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Take the Time for Small Moments

My daughter told her first true joke, and it really taught me a lesson.

Not only was her joke funny – it was a reference joke.  She used someone else’s line and made it fresh and original.  It was so funny, I didn’t stop laughing for a full two minutes.  Then it made me think.  And then I wanted to cry for what it meant was happening.

Both of my kids were sitting together sharing a bowl of dry cereal.  It was Fruit Loops, and each of them took turns picking out their favorite colors.  After a while, my daughter simply said, “I got a rock,” each time she picked up her piece.

I sat listening for a while, when all of a sudden it dawned on me.  She is making a Charlie Brown reference!  She was three years old and using a movie reference for humor!  In one scene of the classic movie, “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” Charlie and his friends go trick-or-treating.  At each home, everyone gets great treats in their bag, everyone except poor Charlie.  Being the long-suffering character that he is, Charlie gets a rock at each home instead.  And every time he does, he simply says, “I got a rock.”

When my daughter said, “I got a rock” with each Loop, she was referencing Charlie Brown, and this bowled me over.  It was funny, and it was shocking.  It felt like a large siren went off in my head and a voice came over the loud speaker to report on just how fast she is growing up. Can someone please slow down the clock?

I guess what I am getting at is… time flies.  Time flies when Read more

The Most “Underwater” City in America is…

Mountain House, California. This news is so big that even the NY Times carried a recent story on the unfortunate circumstances facing Mountain House residents. The article states that close to 90 percent of Mountain House homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth. This is the highest percentage in the country.

Mountain House is clearly a microcosm of this widespread problem. Many families located in this area and people across the nation are adjusting their spending habits due to the depressing economy and the burden of paying a high mortgage.

“Most people pay very little attention to what their equity stake is if they can make the mortgage,” said First American CoreLogic’s chief economist, Mark Fleming. “They think it’s a bummer if the value has gone down, but they are rooted in their house. When my house is valued at 50 percent less than it was, does this begin to challenge the way I’m going to behave?”

If Mountain House and the impact on the surrounding area are any indication, the answer is Read more

Conforming Loan Limits to Remain Unchanged for 2009

The recently saved government entities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have released news that conforming loan limits will remain unchanged for 2009. This means that most eligible loans for funding will stay at the $417,000 limit.  However, in more costly regions, such as the Tri-Valley area, the government-sponsored enterprises are expected to purchase and guarantee loans up to $625,500.

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the loan limits in some high cost areas may possibly decline since legislation lowered the ceiling and home prices have fallen. The $417,000 conforming limit cannot decline as a result of falling home prices, the agency also commented.

This is another positive step in helping to dig us out of the current housing crisis.

Dublin, San Ramon, Danville, Pleasanton, and Livermore’s End of October Real Estate Update

This graph consists of real time inventory numbers for Danville, Dublin, Livermore, San Ramon and Pleasanton. Here are the active real estate housing stats for the Tri-Valley cities for the end of October.

Inventory numbers have remained relatively stable over the last few months.  For October, foreclosures and short sales are more prevalent in the Tri-Valley cities of Dublin, San Ramon and Livermore.