Medical Bills & Bankruptcy

How many people go under financially in this country due to inability to pay bills caused by a serious health issue?  Check out The Quiet Crisis from the AARP website, DividedWeFail.org.

A recent study from the AARP (not a group known for particularly left wing thinking) found that 1.85 million people resorted to bankruptcy last year directly because of financial distress caused by overwhelming medical bills.

Estimates of illness related bankruptcy in 2008 range from 700,000 to 1.85 million.  Whichever number is correct, the fact remains that in countries with the dreaded “socialized medicine” system in place such as France, Britain, Japan and Germany, the number is ZERO.

- Maria

Weatherize Your Vintage Home & Keep the Charm

Fall is fast approaching and if you have a historic or vintage home, you may be torn between the classic charm and energy savings.  The National Trust for Historic Preservation now offers a weatherization guide for older & historic buildings.  Check out their site to see how you can conserve energy this winter and preserve your home’s classic character.

~Kori

Health Care Reform

My Fellow Americans,

Aren’t you embarrassed?  Can you really believe the uproar that an extremely vocal minority raises any time someone dares to say that decent medical care is a right not a privilege.

I am going to post in here some of the content of a report by Katie Connolly in August 24th-31st Newsweek and a link to the whole article.

We live in the only westernized modern economy that does not have an national approach to public health care and the rest of the world is amazed by that.

Read this and let me know what you think.

“Most Americans have heard horror stories of long waits for health-care services in other countries. But according to a study by the Commonwealth Fund, Americans wait longer to see primary-care physicians than patients in Britain, Germany, Australia, or New Zealand—all countries with strong public-health systems.”   For the rest of Katie Connolly’s article, click here.

I must admit, I cringed at the title, but I think if you read the whole thing, you will see that a good healthcare system has nothing to do with socialism, I don’t anybody would refer to Japan as a socialist state.

Love the last paragraph, is it possible that most of our healthcare wait times are due to a shortage of primary care physicians and that shortage is due to the fact that specialists make considerably more money?

 - Maria

Existing home sales surge 7% in July as prices continue to drop

The National Association of Realtors said Friday that home sales rose 7.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million in July, from a pace of 4.89 million in June. It was the fourth-straight monthly increase and the highest level of sales since August 2007.  Click here for complete story.

~Kori

RMLS Market Action Stats – July 2009

With every passing summer month, we are getting closer and closer to a balanced market – in June we saw inventory levels dip to 8.2 months and in July those levels dropped to 7.3 months (compared to 10 months in July 2008).  Overall, new listings dropped 25.4% at a time when historically speaking more listings are coming on the market.  Couple that with an 8.6% increase in closed sales and an 8.3% increase in pending sales for the month of July and you can see why inventory levels are on the decline.  With less inventory for buyers to choose from and an influx in closed business, the market is making it’s own correction – remember, at six months of inventory we consider the market to be balanced.

Another interesting stat in this month’s Market Action, the average sales price for July 2009 was down 15.2% when compared with July 2008 – just to clarify – this is average SALES PRICE, not average HOME VALUE. 

People ask me all the time, how’s business, are you surviving?  Business is good, Maria and I have had a great year – primary driver, FIRST TIME HOMEBUYERS!  That’s not all of our business but I’d say it’s over 50%.  The $8,000 First Time Homebuyer tax credit and low interest rates has given first time buyers a great opportunity to get into their first home.  Due to the income limitations for this credit most of the homes these buyers are looking at are sub-$250,000.  In that market, homes are selling in days because there simply is not enough inventory available.  We are also approaching crunch time, the credit is available to qualified first time homebuyers until November 30, 2009 – that means the transaction must be closed on the 30th – no closing date extentions if planning on collecting the $8,000 tax credit.  This also means that in order to insure closing on time, first time buyers will want to have an accepted offer on a home by October 15, 2009 (which gives those buyers two months to find that perfect home).

It’s time to take the plunge, the conditions couldn’t be much better!  Drop us an email or give us a buzz and we’ll help you get started!

~Kori

Are You Getting Enough Sunshine?

Sunshine Is Good For You

All those dire warnings about the dangers of exposure to the sun may be backfiring on us.

Several scientific studies have pinpointed a troublesome issue.  One study appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine and two studies that were published in the journal Pediatrics posed that 75% of all Americans may be suffering from a significant Vitamin D deficiency problem across the board, and the rates are at 70% in children alone.

Studies have shown for years that Vitamin D is good for your bones, but now researchers are finding that it may help ward off a host of other diseases including cancer and heart disease.

Some doctors are now recommending that 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure 2 to 3 times a week may be good for us. 

Just to put that in perspective, in order to get the same amount of vitamin D from your diet as you can get from sunshine, be aware that you would have to consume 150 egg yolks or 30 cups of fortified orange juice to to get the same value of vitamin D as you would get from 10 minutes of sun exposure.

- Maria