What's the difference: Democrat - Republican

Have you wondered why?

Have you ever wondered why there are differences between the Democrats and Republicans? It’s their moral make-up, sort of.

Democrats are generally people who want to help people. They are generally decent people. But also, they do whatever they have a mind to, without worrying about the consequences or someone reminding them it may be wrong.

They don’t like someone telling or showing them what they may be doing is morally wrong. This is a conflict; they have obviously learned to live with.

When Democrats elect their leaders, they elect people who don’t remind them of what’s right or wrong.

In addition, they don’t have high expectations of their leaders. Their leaders can lie or steal, as long as it doesn’t hurt them directly.

They obviously have a low moral standard for their leaders because they are afraid their leaders will tell them they need to clean up their act and expect more from them.

Unfortunately, as much as they want to help people, Democrats aren’t big givers to charities or to churches, if they bother to go to church (other than the Unitarian Church). They may give a lot of time to non-profits like food banks, hospitals, etc., but they normally don’t give money to those causes, unless they get recognition for it.

The Democrats would rather have the government support (or assume the responsibility) of those organizations.  Democrats feel they pay taxes and the government can divvy up the money to those who are in need. Instead of giving money to charities or churches, they give to the government, and expect everyone else to do so.

Democrats like to make themselves “feel good.” How? Democrats say things like “Fasten your seat belt, ‘because we love you’.” Everyone knows that’s BS. They don’t even know you. How could they love you, but it still makes them “feel good.”

They want to control others in order to make themselves “feel good” about themselves. As for their leaders, Democrats have very low expectations of their leaders. They may not like it, but they accept the fact their leaders may lie, cheat, and steal, as long as the leaders make them “feel good” about themselves. They accept this because they don’t feel the need to “live up” to the leader’s expectations.

The leaders can say stuff like “Fasten your seat belts, because I love you.” It makes the Democrat feel good that he’s saying that, and some actually believe they mean it. They pass laws to help them “feel good” but those laws control other people. (You can’t get a 32 oz Coke in New York City now… because they love you.)

The Democrats want to governments to run the charities. They want the government to give help to the poor and needy, because they don’t want to do it themselves. So, to make themselves “feel good” they don’t mind higher taxes. The dangerous part is they also don’t mind giving up some of their freedom because it makes them “feel good.”

When a Democrat leader gets caught blatantly lying about something, i.e.: “I never had sex with that woman.” They don’t really care, because they don’t have any higher expectations of their leader. He’s “just like them.” No matter what the leader does, the Democrats feel their leaders are just like them, only better.

Their leaders still have the quality that makes them “feel good” so they ignore the lying and such.

Another example, Obama has lied to the Democrats (and everyone else) over and over again, but the Democrats don’t care. They don’t have high expectations of him. Besides, he’s black and it makes them “feel good” that he’s in office. It doesn’t matter if he’s tearing down the country. It doesn’t matter what he does, he’s their leader and they’ll do anything for him, right or wrong.

They accept anything he says or does, because he makes them “feel good” and so he gets away with turning our country socialistic because they think the government will take care of the poor and needy and elderly. So they won’t have to. It makes them “Feel good.”

The Democrats are willing to give up their freedom, their taxes, and their jobs, to make it “feel good.”

In this, you have an example of the greater portion of the Democrats.

They are also, on the most part, the one’s the government gives to. They support their leaders because if they don’t they may lose their free cell phone (and the free 250 minutes a month) and their welfare check, or their check for all their “dependent” children. On that note I recently saw a news broadcast where a woman had 12 kids and she demanded in a shout: “Who’s going to take care of all of them children. Someone needs to take care of all of them!” as if she was not responsible for them.

There’s no way she would not vote Democrat (if she votes at all.) All those “feel good” Democrats give her just enough money to survive. Chances are each of those 12 kids will also be dependent on the Democrats for their subsistence.

You have two types of Democrats:

1) the ones who want to “feel good,” and elect someone who willingly lies and cheats, and they just don’t care, because he’s more like them;

2) the ones who must live off the taxes of everyone else because they have never paid taxes in their lives and don’t know any other way of life.


Now, what about the Republicans?

Republicans want to help people, too. Republicans have very high expectations of their leaders. They expect their leaders to have a good moral compass that will always lead them in the right direction.

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. From time to time they get a leader who is caught with their hand in the “cookie jar” or out with some person other than their spouse.

In a case like that, all the Democrats start shouting “See! We told you the Republicans were no good!”

The Democrats don’t mind if their “Clinton’s” and “Kennedy’s” running around and getting blow jobs in the Oval Office or kill some young lady at Chappaquiddick, being he’s too drunk to know what he’s doing. That’s okay, because Democrats have very low expectations of their leaders.

Sometimes a Democrat leader will appear to have a great family where they play together and have a great time in public (touch football on the White House lawn, or sailing) but in private, like Jack and Ted Kennedy, they have a number of affairs swept under the rug by his staff.

The Democrats just ignore that and re-elect that person every time. No matter what he does, as long as he doesn’t go to jail over it.

The Democrats, like the Republicans, hold the Republican leaders to high expectations.

The Republicans are “hurt” when one of their own screws up. But the Democrats delight in it, showing the world that the Republicans are just putting on airs and being “holier than thou.”

The Republicans expect their leaders to be faithful to their wives; have a strong faith; and never do anything wrong.

When that doesn’t happen, the Republicans are brought up to ridicule by the Democrats. “See! We told you so…!!”

When a Republican does get caught doing something wrong, even if it’s a little thing, it’s a major event to the News and Democrats. Why? Because they have supposedly set themselves up on a higher plain, and are expected to be good and always be a leader of great character and integrity.

That’s generally what’s expected of Republican leaders (by both Democrats and Republicans).

If a Republican leader falls and gets caught doing something illegal or immoral, the Republicans take a hard hit.

Republicans do try to set themselves up on a loftier plain than the Democrats. That’s because they DO CARE what their leaders do. This infuriates the Democrats and they welcome the chance to point out evvry situation, even though they ignore their own White House blow jobs and naked swims with secretaries.

This is actually good. The Republicans do set themselves up and moral and upright citizens. They WANT their leaders to be good and moral people. Again, the Democrats just don’t care.

This means, the chances are, the Republican who gets elected as a leader has a firm moral foundation to govern on. (That scares the Democrats because he might expect the same from them.)

Democrats are normally jealous of the Republican leaders and work very hard to prove they are just charlatans. They want the Republican leaders to appear like they are: human.

Little do they realize Republicans are human, but they regulate their words and deeds on a more upright path. At least they try to do so.

Republicans live by the words of the Christian leaders who say “all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.” But unlike the Democrats, Republicans don’t like to accept immoral acts and lying as a “normal” way of life.

They want be good and do better toward their fellow man.

Now, about taxes: Republicans believe the old adage: “You can give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. You can teach a man to fish, and you feed him for the rest of his life.”

That is why most Republicans are for making welfare a little harder to get. They want people to learn to be self-sufficient. They want them to be able to take care of themselves, and they will willingly go out of their way to help them get started.

According to recent polls, Republicans give to charities and churches far more than Democrats do.

"States that voted Republican in the last presidential race are far more likely to be generous to charities than those voting Democratic, a report by the Chronicle of Philanthropy suggests. Cities and states, it turns out, are just as polarized as in the nation’s electorate." source: http://clearwater.patch.com/articles/whos-more-geneours-republicans-or-democrats

Republicans believe the government help is only for those who REALLY need it. Charities and churches can help people get back on their feet. Republicans don’t get showy with their giving. They tend to keep it secret. But they generally do support charities and churches much more than Democrats.

So, the main differences between the Democrats and the Republicans are:

Democrats want the government to take care of people. They would rather pay higher taxes and give away their freedoms to help the needy, instead of giving to charity or churches. (What they don’t realize is the government is top-heavy with bureaucracies that take mort of the money before it gets to the needy)

Republicans want to cut the top-heavy government and give more directly, the help for the needy. Most charities and churches have a very thin layer of bureaucracy to filter the monies through to those who need it.

Another and main difference is: Republicans hold their fellows to a higher level of moral conduct.

Democrats don’t really care about morals and such. (As can be proven by their repeatedly worshipping of the Obama’s and Clinton’s and Kennedy’s, Reid’s and Pelosi’s – all are proven liars, yet keep getting elected.)

Did you ever wonder why George Bush was not re-elected? It was not that Clinton was so much better. It was because Bush lied when he went back on his promise of “Read my lips, no new taxes.”

He lied and the Republicans, while liking him, could no longer have him as a leader, and voted against him.

Republicans cannot long tolerate a lying politician.

Democrats, on the other hand, will gladly accept him.


I would apprciate any feedback.   ---  Paul

WHAT IS A "SHORT SALE" in REAL ESTATE?

You might have heard the term “Short Sale” from time to time. But what exactly is a “short sale?”

Bear with me, I’m going to get real basic here for awhile: First let’s define the term: “Short” from the phrase “Short Sale.”

When the value of a home becomes significantly less than the amount owed on the home, it is said to be “short.” That’s slang for less of the actual value. The home “falls short” in value.

For instance, the owner has evidently let himself get into a financial bind. Obviously he can’t wait the years it will take for inflation to bring the value back up to what it was when it was purchased. And, he can’t afford to make the scheduled house payments.

This is a term people call being “upside down.”

What happens? The borrower either has to sell the property or face foreclosure. All of this means the proceeds from the sale of the home will “fall short” of what is owed the financial institution.

Possibly the solution is to make a deal with the bank to accept less than the amount owed. Yes, banks can do that. Especially in today’s slow housing market.

The bank has two choices: Accept the “short sale” and take a loss, or allow the home to go to foreclosure. As explained in my previous blog, no one really likes foreclosures.

In a foreclosure, the bank is stuck with real estate owned (REO). The problem: If the bank now owns the home, it must continue upkeep of the home, pay utilities, pay taxes, and keep it secure from vandals.

In a true foreclosure, the borrower would normally take a heavier “hit” on their credit score. In this topsy-turvy housing market with record numbers of foreclosures happening, the foreclosure typically no longer holds such a threat to the credit score.

Today a short sale and foreclosure hold similar “hits” to the credit score. Which sounds strange to me, but I understand that’s the case.

In a “short sale” the bank and borrower agree to sell the property for less than what is owed on it. The bank agrees to “take a loss.” The bank agrees to allow the borrower to sell the property as a loss. But this does not absolve the borrower from his debt to the bank.

The borrower may agree to sign a note for the balance of the loan not recovered in the sale of the property. Not all borrowers or banks do this. Why would a borrower even want to do this?

THE SHORT SALE:
Short sales are not good for the neighbors. The home is now on the market for substantial lower price than the competing properties. (This brings down property values)

Let’s say the home has a mortgage on it for $300,000. The seller (who is also the borrower) puts the home on the market for $240,000. This results in a $60,000 short fall from the borrowed amount.

Suppose someone wants to buy the home at the short sale price. The seller then signs a contract with a buyer to purchase the home for $240,000. That’s not the end of it. The bank must now approve the proposed buyer and the sale amount.

HINT: In all “short sale” advertising you’ll see the terminology like: “subject to third party approval.”

Normally, the bank has “underwriters” (those are the hierarchy of people who must approve the amount of sale, and buyer). This underwriting may go through several “levels” of approval by the bank officers before the loan and buyer are approved. This delay can last for six months or more! Banks do not hurry this procedure.

Short sales are usually the LEAST EXPENSIVE WAY to buy a home. But it is also the most time-consuming, and even heart breaking. For example:

The bank “approves” the sale between the borrower and the buyer. A closing date is set for 45 days from the date of approval.

But it’s not over… If on day 44, someone else decides they like the “short sale” house they may put an offer on the home. The new buyer may make an offer to the seller for $250,000. Even though there’s a contract on the table for $240,000, the seller will likely present the new offer and throw out the $240,000 offer, EVEN UP TO THE TIME OF CLOSING, and kick the original buyer out of the picture.

Unfair? Not to the bank, seller, or new buyer. It’s just unfair to the original contract holder who’s losing a good buy on a home.

Buying a home on “short sale” can result in a MAJOR savings, but it can also be time consuming and very frustrating. If you decide to buy a “short sale” home, you need to be prepared for heartache and very long time delays by the bank.

As a result of today’s pretty bad housing market, the borrower may choose to just go into foreclosure, instead of hassling with bank in a “short sale” that may or may not go through. This is especially true today when the “hit” on the credit score is about the same. This happens more and more all the time. (And foreclosure also has its privileges.)

I’ll talk about the “foreclosure” process in another blog.

Good Luck!

FORECLOSURES -- maybe not

Foreclosure? Maybe not….

First of all, you just can’t imagine the angst involved with being in financial trouble. If you’ve never been there, you’re lucky, and probably can’t really relate. Also, if you’ve never been there, take a moment and put yourself in the shoes of those are in that situation. It’s a horrible feeling.

If you know someone who’s going through financial problems, help them! They probably see no hope. They see their world crashing down around them and they feel helpless to prevent it.

You don’t need to give them money. Give them hope. They feel so alone.

For those of you who are having problems with finances and your home loan, don’t let it get out of hand.

Don’t ignore the problem, that doesn’t help at all. It’s better to meet problems head on. The further you get behind, the harder it will be to overcome the situation. You CAN overcome it. It doesn’t seem like it now, but you CAN DO IT!

Contact your lender as soon as you realize there may be a problem. If you’ve already passed that point, contact the lender anyhow. The longer you wait, the worse it will become. They may have a solution for you; maybe a solution no one’s thought of yet.

When the lender sends you mail, OPEN IT! I know it may make your heart drop, but there may be a solution in there. Also, these letters may include some important notices and information about pending legal actions. Not knowing of an action is no excuse in court.

The lender does not want to foreclose on your property. (Sarcasm: )That’s all they need is another property to be responsible for, to pay the utilities on, to keep from being vandalized, etc. Many times they will work with you. Sometimes they’ll work out an equitable payment schedule to let you get back on track.

The lender will send you possible alternatives with their first notices. Consider them.

Find your loan and mortgage documents. READ THEM! Many times they’ll tell you of your rights, and give you information about what the lender can do if you don’t make your payments. Also, remember, especially in these times when there are so many foreclosures happening, the lender will most likely WANT to work with you and come up with a solution.

A while back, I was working with less than one possible foreclosure a month. Today I’m working with about five or more a week. So I know the lenders are being overwhelmed. Many of the lenders aren't even putting all of the foreclosures on the market, because there's so many it will drive prices realistically undown and hurt the normal home sales.

Get on the Internet and go to the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) web site. Learn about what foreclosure means, and what rights you have. Each state has different laws governing defaults on mortgages, so check out your state’s rules and regulations.

There are a lot of NEW ideas for preventing foreclosures available now that weren’t available just a year ago. Learn about them. Contact a HUD-approved counselor. They do have suggestions and ideas I’m sure you and your friends haven’t thought of. In fact, they have a whole “recovery” program set up now just to help you!

Above all… STAY AWAY FROM FORECLOSURE PREVENTION COMPANIES and those who have “schemes” that will help you. These will ¬not work. They can make your situation far worse for you and not only cause you to lose your home, but still have to pay for it after your home is gone. These are SCAMS! I don’t know of ANY that will work.

Find assets you don’t think you’ve got. Jewelry, cars; things you can sell. You may even cash in your life insurance policy. Take an extra job if you have to. Find all your resources and pool them to try to pay your loan. EVEN IF IT DOESN’T WORK, this will show the lender, you tried your best and will make sacrifices to stay in your home. This will go a long way to encourage the lender to help you even more. Remember, they WANT to help you.

In the past a lot of lenders wouldn’t work with you much. Many lenders were cold and heartless about what they considered as “deadbeats.” But in today’s times, most lenders will help you all they can. They understand the hard times we’re going through.

Remember, if you see a problem arising, contact your lender immediately. Get hold of a “HUD approved housing counseling agency” NOW!!! Call 800-569-4287

Just remember, you’re not alone. It may feel like it, but there are people out there who can help. Find someone you can talk to: your lender, a HUD approved counselor, your Realtor, are your best options.

Again, if you know someone who’s going through this situation, they need your encouragement. Talk to them in a frank, but in a friendly manner. Bounce ideas around. Make them feel good about themselves again.

Soon, I’ll talk about “short sales” – “deeds in lieu of foreclosure” – and other options.

How is the Real Estate Market These Days?

I get asked this question every day.

The answer depends on who’s asking; and what role they’re playing.

For the Buyer the market is FANTASTIC! Prices of homes are rock bottom and not expected to go much lower (in the current state of economy) and interest rates are also rock bottom.

It’s no longer LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION… it’s PRICE, PRICE, PRICE! You can go to any neighborhood and find a home. There are dozens available. For example, I have a home listed at $280,000, but right next door, a similar home is listed for $265,000. There are only minor differences: a corner lot and a larger square footage, etc.

For the Seller, the market STINKS!. There are over 2350 homes on the market right now in my small market area of Whatcom County. That’s a chunk! What that means is the competition is overwhelming! To sell a home the seller must cut his price dramatically. If not the home just gets stale on the market and just sits there, and sits there.

To make things worse, there are more and more foreclosures forcing the home prices down even more. This is true in every market niche’.

On some occasions the seller must bring money to the closing table. The buyer can usually demand a “typical” 10% discount in price, and likely get it. That is, if the seller must sell.

Another group for which the market STINKS is the “For Sale by Owner” (FSBO) market. The FSBO will probably not sell anything in this market. Why? Because FSBO’s always price their homes too high, therefore “out of the market.” They’ll suffer along for months before giving up.

About 90% of FSBO’s eventually use a Realtor. But by that time the seller is exhausted and has lost all patience. Also, most FSBO’s think their home is the ONLY home in the world and rarely do they lower their price to be “in the market.” (I’ll do more on FSBO’s another time.)

This is what’s known as a “Buyer’s Market.”

Although, few will admit it, the Banker also thinks the market STINKS! Why? Because they have a boat load of money to lend and very few people can qualify. The typical buyer must have a credit score of 700 or more to qualify for conventional mortgages.

The exception is FHA loans. Credit scores don’t really matter for FHA loans. The lenders do, however, look at other things, such a length of time on a job, etc.

The Banker is stuck. They have all this money to loan. They can’t make money unless they loan money. But, with the interest rates so low, all their profit is being eaten up by operating costs and taxes. Yes, even the bankers (although few will admit it) think this market STINKS!

As for the Realtor, it generally STINKS. Most Realtors still in the business have probably used up most of their savings and are working part-time jobs just to make end meet. But this may not be a bad thing.

It’s not really all that bad because it helps weed out the bad Realtors. Most of the Realtors who are currently left are pretty good (with some exceptions) and these are the one’s you should work with.

There are other actors who have roles to play in the Real Estate market: the Title & Escrow companies, the appraisers, and home inspectors, to name a few. Most of these have been thinned out by the Buyer’s Market as well. It’s a struggle for the fittest.

WHY is the market this way and when will it change?

The answer is people in general at this time, are afraid to make the commitment on a major purchase like a home. They have no clue what’s going to happen with their jobs and the economy. That’s the main reason the real estate market is stagnating. There’s a bunch of DORKS running the show in Washington DC. And have been for the last 8 years.

It’s my prediction that the Real Estate market will stay pretty well flounder until November.

In November the lunatics in Washington DC may be changed for a new set. Until that time the whole economy is being held hostage by a bunch of “theorists.”

Why do I say that? Because very few of the lunatics in Washington DC, from the President on down, have ever held a job outside of academia or the in private sector. They’ve never made a payroll . They are using their tenure in Washington as a “social experiment” practicing their “theories.” As you can tell, those “theories” just don’t work. They have no idea how it “really works” in the real world.

Those folk have no idea what makes our economy robust.

If they are re-elected in November, you can expect the market to really crash and burn. In fact, if there’s not a major turn-over in Washington, the private ownership of real estate may be in jeopardy. But, then again, that’s what many theorists want.

If there’s a major change in control of congress in November, you’ll see home prices start edging up as well as interest rates. Foreclosures will reduce and people won’t have to sell their house. That will reduce housing inventory. The Bond market will go down and the stock market start heading up. Recovery “MAY” start happening in February and March.

How’s the Real Estate Market? What’s your opinion?