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Morning Coffee

Monday, June 28, 2010
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"The best laid plans o' mice and men often go astray."
- Robert Burns

"What would you do if you weren't afraid?"
- Haw (from "Who Moved My Cheese?")


DON'T GET TOO COMFORTABLE!

Are you enjoying the good times? Have you achieved your goals and become comfortable in the knowledge that you have reached the zenith of your life and career? But wait! Hold on just a minute. What if things were to change suddenly . . . and you ended up back at the proverbial "Square One"?

Maybe that's already happened to you a time or two. Perhaps your career took a sudden turn in a direction you hadn't anticipated, or a health problem caught you totally by surprise. What did you do then? Were you paralyzed by fear? Did you feel cheated, or angry? Did you blame circumstances for your new situation?

No doubt you are able to rationalize objectively that all of us face change from time to time, that it's a part of life. It's difficult, however, to be objective when change suddenly stares you straight in the eye.

Some answers popped up this week to the challenges of change. You'll find those answers in a short, easy-to-read book entitled "Who Moved My Cheese?" Written by Spencer Johnson (co-author of "The One-Minute Manager"), it's the story of two little mice named "Sniffy" and "Scurry" and two little people the size of mice called "Hem" and Haw." The story traces the whimsical challenges faced by these tiny characters as they travel through the maze called "real life."

If you have ever been challenged by change in your world, you'll find comfort and sage advice in this simple story. It's waiting for you to read, and it's worth the short time you'll need to absorb the lessons it contains. This is a great story - don't miss it!

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Lowest Interest Rates Since 1971!

Friday, June 25, 2010
by Liz Warren

That is right. Read the headline! These are the lowest interest rates since 1971! We are talking nearly 40 years.

Average 30-year home loan rates : 4.69 percent

Average 15-year mortgage rates are just 4.15 percent

Buy now or take advantage of a refi. These are unbelieveable rates!

 

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Mt. Hood Seven Sales for May 2010

Wednesday, June 23, 2010
by Liz Warren

Mt. Hood Sales for May 2010

Here are the seven sales for the month of May in 2010 in the Mt. Hood Area. Two of these homes were foreclosures and finally, a forest service cabin sold!

Now that the Fed stimulous is over there is a major rush to close those deals by the end of June. This may have pushed purchasers into the first half of the year for buying and many experts predict a lag in July and August since many buyers took advantage of that tax credit opportunity. Even though this tax credit was extended into 2010, only one fifth of the numbers seen in 2009 took advantage compared to the surge of sales in 2009. Numbers are weak throughout the US for 2010 with new mortgage applications lagging and new construction sales down by 32% according to Reuters today.

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Mt. Hood Real Estate Sales for May 2010

Tuesday, June 22, 2010
by Liz Warren

The Portland Metro RMLS has sent out the latest sales for May 2010. Here are the stats:

Mt Hood real estate sales May 2010

The numbers tell the story. Lots of inventory coming on to the market for summer with 36 new listings in May! Although this chart tells us there were six sales, there were actually seven. Pending sales are up compared to last year at this time with a 50% increase. The majority of these pending sales are foreclosures under $200,000.

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Buying Mt. Hood Foreclosures

Tuesday, June 22, 2010
by Liz Warren

If you are considering purchasing a foreclosure on Mt. Hood from Government Camp, Rhododendron, Welches or Brightwood, you may want to review the "gut check list" here:

Distressed Property Buyer Info

foreclosures demand a different mindset from buyers and they need to be mentally prepared.

View Foreclosures in our area here

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Mt. Hood Forest Homeowners Association Annual Meeting

Monday, June 21, 2010
by Liz Warren

Attention Mt. Hood National Forest Cabin Owners!!!!!!

The homeowner's meeting is scheduled this Saturday, June 26th in the Zig Zag Ranger Station Parking Lot.

Meeting starts at 12:45

Sign-in 11:30

Lunch 12:00

Please bring a salad or dessert or another of your favorite dishes to share.  You will need to provide your own chairs for seating.

 

Agenda:

Welcome and update from Board

          Accomplishments since last meeting

                                C2 contribution

                                Adopt-a-highway

                                Appraisal Results/Appeal Process

                                Introduction of new board members

               

Water – Dave Jacobs

                Water Master update on both systems

 

Forest Service – Christy Covington and Fran Lanagan

                Update

                Road Maintenance Discussion

 

Guest Speaker – Pete Bailey – NFH Board Member

                Update on legislative effort of C2

                Political progress that affects Ht Hood Cabin  owners

                Work at the National Forest Homeowners regarding the   Future of                                         our Cabin Permit Fee

 

 

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Morning Coffee

Monday, June 21, 2010
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"The world makes way for a man who knows where he is going."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson


THIRTY-ONE SECONDS TO GO!

You may recall the story of how steel-magnate Andrew Carnegie commissioned Napoleon Hill to learn the true philosophy of success from America's most successful individuals of the early 1900's. Hill's search for those success secrets culminated in his well-known book "Think & Grow Rich".

What you may not know was how Hill almost squandered the opportunity offered by Carnegie. At the end of a long interview, Carnegie abruptly told Hill, "We've talked a long time and I have shown you the greatest opportunity a young man ever had to become famous, rich, and useful. Now - if I choose you out of the two hundred and forty other applicants - if I introduce you to the outstandingly successful men in America - if I help you get their collaboration in finding out the true philosophy of success - will you devote twenty years to the job, earning your own living as you go along? We have had sufficient discussion. I want your answer - yes or no."

Hill tells that he spent twenty-nine seconds struggling with a negative mental attitude, thinking of all the hurdles he would face over the twenty-year project. Finally, finding the positive mental attitude he had temporarily lost, Hill replied, "YES!"

How did he know it took 29 seconds to answer? At that point, Carnegie showed Hill the stopwatch he had been holding beneath his desk. Carnegie had allowed Hill just 60 seconds to show his positive state of mind, the one trait he felt most critical to achieving his desired results.

Hill hesitated. We all do from time to time. What's important, like Hill's answer, is that we ultimately grasp that sometimes-elusive positive mental attitude, and adopt it as our own. Had he hesitated for thirty-one seconds more, Napoleon Hill would have given up a wonderful opportunity (as well as depriving us of his inspiring book). He didn't . . . and neither should we.

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It's Time To Buy

Monday, June 14, 2010
by Liz Warren

Graduations are over and school is out. Now is the time to buy with increased inventory giving lots of opportunities for choices on the mountain! Interest rates are the best we've seen in a long time and sellers are motivated. The rain is over and there's plenty to look at so take advantage of these times.

Your dollars will go farther with low interest rates. If rates increase by 1% you will loose 10% of your buying power. There are many foreclosures and short sales too for bargain hunters and investors!

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Monday Morning Coffee

Monday, June 14, 2010
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"When people are highly motivated, it's easy to accomplish the impossible.
And when they're not, it's impossible to accomplish the easy."

- Bob Collings (Cited in BITS & PIECES)


ASK "WHY?"

Beginning in the late '60s, a revolution of sorts began in this country. It was a revolution that was irreverent at times, almost always anti-establishment, and it turned many traditional social customs upside-down.

How did it begin? The young, many of college-student age, began to ask WHY? They challenged everything by asking a simple question - WHY? Why must it be so? Why is this or that the "right" way? Why can't I try a new approach? Everything that had been taken for granted by the establishment up to that time was up for grabs.

Voila! The country changed and will never be the same. Was the change all for the good? Hardly. Families suffered. The security blanket of social customs was yanked away. Collectively, we had to find a new direction, new meaning, for our lives. Was it worth two decades of turmoil? So it would seem.

Today's young families seem to be returning to principle-centered living. They are more sophisticated. They understand and adopt good personal money-management philosophies, and they still ask "why?"

The "why" of today, however, is more constructive. It has led to astounding advances in technology. When you ask a "why" today, you can locate the answer in minutes via the Internet. Audio books, motivational tapes, and "online" educational courses make it possible to become enlightened without the need for social revolution.

What about you? Are you asking "WHY?" often enough? Today, the world is yours if you know how to ask the right questions! The "ask why" generation's gift to all of us was the freedom to question and learn, guilt-free. Want to grow as a person? Start asking "WHY?"!

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Morning Coffee

Monday, June 7, 2010
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"What is more mortifying than to feel you've missed the Plum for want of courage to shake the Tree?"
~ Logan Pearsall Smith


WOULD YOU ENTER THE BLACK DOOR?

Many years ago, in a country far away, a ruthless dictator terrorized his prisoners. On their execution day, each prisoner was summoned for an audience with the cruel dictator. Standing face-to-face, the dictator gave each condemned man a final choice - to either face the firing squad - or go through the "black door."

Having experienced countless episodes of torture and cruelty already, the prisoners invariably chose death over the unknown terror that they imagined must lie beyond the "black door." Finally, the day came when the dictator himself lay on his deathbed. Curious, his inner circle of advisors asked him, "What lies beyond the 'black door'?" His answer? "Freedom!"

People are still making that choice today - choosing lives dampened by fear, rather than taking a chance on the unknown beyond the black door. That awful, scary feeling that comes from "fear of the unknown" is often just enough to keep us from breaking out into the clear light of day that illuminates our success.

The next time an opportunity presents itself, yet fear threatens to smother success, take time to understand your fear. Make a list of what you fear may happen. Write down the worst that could happen. Next, make a list of the benefits you would reap by taking positive action. When the benefits exceed the risks, the decision will become clear.

Get in the habit of setting clear, concise daily goals for yourself. As you set and achieve them, you will notice that "fear of the unknown" begins to fade. You will accomplish more in a day than you otherwise would in a month.

Finally, remember one of my favorite and often used quotes: "Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there."

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Liz Warren
Merit Properties Group - Keller Williams Realty PDX Central
Box 131
Welches OR 97067
Direct: 503-705-3090
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