Report on Mobile, AL

It’s no secret that the Southeast and Western United States are booming. The costs of living and doing business there are often cheaper there than in big coastal cities. But where and how much those cities are thriving might surprise you.
Take Alabama. The state has some of the fastest growing metro areas in the country, [...]

Bush Tells Congress to Put Economy Ahead of Politics

Bush Tells Congress to Put Economy Ahead of Politics
By Catherine Dodge and Holly Rosenkrantz
Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) — President George W. Bush, delivering his final State of the Union address, urged Congress to set aside election-year politics and act quickly on an economic stimulus plan and other measures he said the country needs.
The president said he [...]

Shareholders 1, Subprimes 0

More elitist scum… And they even used my favorite word in the article!!!
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
Shareholders 1, Subprimes 0: Ailing Countrywide Gets “Countryfried” for Expensive Ski Junket

By Keith Fitz-Gerald
Investment Director
Money Morning/The Money Map Report
I don’t know whether to be furious or relieved.
While at our Oxford Club Chapter Meeting in Colorado Springs last week, I happened [...]

We’ve Hit Bottom – Hooray

by Rich Levin
Your Opportunity to Lead.
The following is based on my recent interaction with Agents across the country in a wide variety of markets. I realize that it contradicts the doom and gloom news that you will continue to read and hear in many places. Where media is concerned good news does not travel fast. [...]

The great fiscal stimulus package … of 1929

Interesting history lesson…
The great fiscal stimulus package … of 1929
By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
Last update: 12:01 a.m. EST Jan. 26, 2008
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Lately, whenever the market has a bad day, the reflex among financial-news editors is to compare our current situation with 1987 and wonder if a “Black Monday”-style crash is on the horizon.
But [...]

A day on the beach in China . . .

Here is one more reason our investment philosophy works so well…

Best and Worst Places to Buy a House

Best and Worst Places to Buy a House
by Danielle Babb
Thursday, January 24, 2008 provided by Enterpreneur
Whether you’re looking for an investment property or a place to live, here’s a look at the cities you should seek out and avoid in 2008.
The housing crunch and the excessive inventory — exceeding 10 months on resale homes — [...]

U.S. real estate a ‘bargain’ for foreign buyers

U.S. real estate a ‘bargain’ for foreign buyers
Many paying cash as dollar falls in value
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
By Tom Kelly
Inman News
Two years ago, while attending a home-builder convention in Orlando, Fla., a top-producing local real estate agent was bubbling over the interior design features of a vacation home.
“All of my international buyers are just going [...]

On $11 an hour, Jersey man made millions

by Karen Datko
Paul Navone is one of those quiet millionaires next door. His friends had no idea he had money until he started giving it away — $1 million to a college and another $1 million to a prep school. The 78-year-old retiree never made more than $11 an hour while working in the New [...]

Fed chief raises expectations of more rate cuts

Fed chief raises expectations of more rate cuts
Mortgage stocks rebound on rumor of BofA, Countrywide merger
Friday, January 11, 2008
Inman News
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke raised expectations of further cuts in short-term interest rates in a speech delivered Thursday, capping a week in which investors temporarily lost faith in publicly traded giants of the mortgage lending [...]

Mortgage rates plummet on softer economic news

Great time to “stock up” on ultra-cheap debt. Note that the cheaper it is to borrow, the more inflationary pressure!!!
Mortgage rates plummet on softer economic news
Freddie Mac: 30-year fixed sinks to Sept. 2005 level
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Inman News
Economic worries continued to push mortgage rates lower this week, with rates on 30-year fixed loans falling [...]

Coast spared mortgage crisis

Coast spared mortgage crisis
Sunday, January 06, 2008
By VETO F. ROLEY
PASCAGOULA — While the sub-prime mortgage crisis threatens to undermine housing markets across the United States, a leading real estate professional in Jackson County says effects from the crisis are muted along the Gulf Coast.
Mortgage lenders along the Gulf Coast were more conservative in their lending [...]