Retail jobs...

During MY campaign for a spot on city council, I emphasized the issue of jobs in the community. It was/is my belief that our local economy is stagnating and even regressing on the job front. There was a time not all that long ago where it seemed like all indications were that the influx of growth was leading to more jobs and other opportunities. The future (then) looked bright and maybe even looked 'recession proof'... if there even is such a thing.

I know that timing is many things in the grand scheme of things. Once the real estate market started to turn, I noticed other bits of bad news starting to emerge locally. For instance, Frontier Communications laid off about 50 workers locally and altered its footprint here in Mohave County. Foxworth Galbraith closed its location in Kingman right around that time. There has been talk of hiring freezes for the both the county and city. Many in the building trade say that employment is off big time.

I was criticized at times for my support of new retail developments here in Kingman. Sometimes the critics said that my intention was to see Kingman become the next Las Vegas in terms of matching the growth that was seen in the Nevada community (if not Vegas, than Phoenix or somewhere else similar). Other critics, including some that comment here, said that retail jobs wouldn't be good for Kingman because they are low paying jobs. Others said the character of Kingman would be jeopardized by corporate giants moving into this local area (and to that I asked those folks to define the current character as they see it... and they never could).

By now most of us in Mohave County are well aware of some new retail developments that have opened up. The old Wal-Mart and Albertson's shopping center in Kingman has two office retail giants, a national sporting goods chain, a major pet store, a discount clothing store, and a couple of other places that I can't recall off the top of my head. But none of those places are considered 'anchor' tenants like big box retail like the Wal-Mart's, Targets, etc.

We also saw, in recent months, a retail shopping mall (including a Dillard's) in Havasu open up... and now there is a shopping center in Bullhead that sports a Target and a Kohl's.

All of these places seemed to have successful grand openings... and all of them have hired the help that they apparently needed to serve their customers.

I was alerted to an article that appears in the Economic Development Journal of Mohave County for April. On page 17 in the 'Commercial' section is the headline that reads 'New Kohl's usher's in 130 new jobs to Bullhead City'.

My question for discussion is... if this Kohl's was in Kingman and they needed 130 people to work there... how many Kingman residents would have applied for a job at Kohl's??

Water issues...

News articles about last winters snow pack in the Rocky Mountains are starting to make the rounds.

Read this article, I found it interesting... especially these passages...

Across the West this spring, the picture is similar, with abundant mountain snow in most areas promising runoff that will provide a break from the drought that has sporadically parched the region since late 1999.

The Colorado mountains are poised to unleash more runoff than they have in 11 years. Streams in Washington and Oregon are forecast to carry up to 50 percent more water than usual. Lake Powell, stretching more than 100 miles across Utah and Arizona, is expected to rise 50 feet from its current depleted state.

and...

The consequences are far-reaching. More than a half-dozen significant rivers originate in the Colorado mountains and flow through at least 10 other states and Mexico. The water is divvied up under nine interstate compacts, three U.S. Supreme Court decrees and two international treaties.

One of those rivers, the Colorado, flows into Lake Powell behind Glen Canyon Dam, a key link in the complicated and often contentious system that stores and dispenses the river's water.

Lake Powell was full in 1999 but has fallen 100 feet because some of those agreements required that more water be delivered to Mexico and down-river states than the river brought in.

For the first time since 2003, the lake will be high enough to let boaters pass through a formation called the Castle Rock cut, lopping 12 miles off the voyage from the southern end of the lake to the northern.

"It'll mean more trips up-lake for me than I've had for several years," said Gary Wantis of Page, Ariz., who owns a 28-foot cruiser and manages the Lake Powell Yacht Club.

Lastly...

Deeper water in Lake Powell and other reservoirs also helps the federal Bureau of Reclamation's hydroelectric plants run more efficiently, and they're projected to crank out 400 million more kilowatt-hours this year than last, an increase of up to 8 percent and enough to power 33,000 homes for a year, spokeswoman Lisa Iams said.

Water utilities in Phoenix and Denver said they expect their supplies to be in good shape. Salt Lake City's Department of Public Utilities expects average levels.

There aren't many things that I'd like to see more than Lake Mead rising a bit, for selfish reasons (fishing).

I'm not posting this article to say that all of our water resource problems are solved or anything like that. We should all be doing our best to conserve whatever water sources we have. I just saw this report as a bit of good news in the otherwise 'bad news' world that we have been living in as far as water is concerned. Maybe a few more winters like last year and a noticeable rise in lake levels will reduce some of the freaking out people have been doing lately. Maybe.

City Council Candidates...

Good to see the candidates still out on the trail. Here is an article from the KDM that covers a recent candidate forum.

I didn't attend this event but included in the article is some information on the views the candidates have on the proposed I40 interchanges that have been in the news for the last couple of years.

From the article...

Interchange projects

One question from the audience asked for the candidates' views on the Kingman Crossing and Rattlesnake Wash interchange projects planned at Interstate 40, east of Andy Devine Avenue.

I'm just glad to see this is still an important topic of conversation.

(Candidate Travin) Pennington said he supports both projects, as both would spawn economic development, bring in sales tax revenue and fix some of the traffic issues in town, particularly those on Stockton Hill Road.

Speaking about Vestar Development Co., which plans to build a mall on the north side of Kingman Crossing, Pennington said, "I don't have a fiduciary responsibility to represent any developer in this town. I have a fiduciary responsibility to represent you, the voters of this community."

Mr. Pennington is right about economic development and the traffic issues, and here Kingman could work towards a private/public partnership agreement to address such issues. But that could mean having the city work with the likes of the developer that he mentioned towards a winning position for both the developer and the community.

Sounds like this candidate is a 'community first' kind of guy... that is good.

(Candidate Keith) Walker, who also supports both projects, said the interchanges are inevitable. He noted that the hospital MedCath Corp. is planning at Kingman Crossing North will not move forward until construction begins on the Crossing interchange. Director Gary Jeppson said in January that the Development Services Department would withhold building permits until construction commences.

I hope Mr. Walker is right about the inevitability of both interchanges. I did not know that the new hospital was on hold until there was a solution to the traffic interchange issue. I guess I missed Mr. Jeppson's comments back in January, last I remember the hospital group was saying that their project was a go and didn't need Interstate access.

Mr. Walker is still the only remaining candidate that I am definitely voting for at this time and I think he would help Kingman find a way to find a solution to the interchange issues whether that means leaning on land owners and developers to pony up for part, most, or all of the costs... or simply condition certain city property for highest and best value in order to sell that property to pay for the infrastructure improvements... or something else other than passing a property tax and raising sales taxes.

(Candidate Carole) Young said, "I believe every interchange is important," especially considering the growing congestion on Hualapai Mountain Road. But she added that she would not support the use of city sales tax revenue to help fund the projects.

Two things here, one I admire her consistent stand on funding. I believe she is saying that what is good for one proposed project should be good for the other... and I agree.

The other thing though, is if the city needs to address such things as traffic congestion... if tax money is NOT used to pay for city improvements, who then pays for such things??

(Candidate Craig) Schritter has "no problem with Kingman Crossing on the north side," but, he said, "The city left multiple questions unanswered on the south side." If developers want to build on the north side, "let them," he said.

But what about the infrastructure projects (i.e. traffic interchanges)?? Also, I'm not sure if the city left questions unanswered, instead I think that some people didn't like the answers (oh no, not more traffic on Seneca... type of thing).

Good reading nonetheless.

Spring time in Kingman

Well... as promised, albeit very late, here are some photos I took while on the 'Monolith Loop' hiking trail with my wife a couple of weekends ago.

There were formations like this one all along the hike, this one was from a high point on the loop.

Here is another example of this kind of formation. There was another area that had many of these stand alone types that I did not manage a decent photo from. Interesting hike.

Lots of colors out in the spring bloom.

Another example of the colors seen.

I'm not a big fan of heights so this was the best perspective of this particular canyon I could manage.

Now my wife on the other hand, obviously has no fear of heights. I was nervous just taking this photo. She is sitting just next to a fall off cliff and I used telephoto to be even this close.

Just to prove that I was actually on this 3.5 hour hike.

Ahh... Sedona... I barely saw you

Things again have been slow again around here at MOCO. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday at a state Realtor Association planning session in beautiful Sedona. I didn't get to explore around because of time constraints, but I managed just a few photos taken from the front of the hotel I stayed in.




These photos were not my best effort.

I'll be sharing some photos from a recent hike I took in Kingman with my wife last weekend... Monolith Trail I think it is called. Once I get caught up I'll post some of those. I've never taken that hike before (as I try to avoid all hikes), but there were some amazing sites along the way. Once I post those, then I think it should be business as usual around MOCO again. There are local issues and the like to opine on. See you then.

Gail's Polar Plunge...

Now that it is heating up here in Arizona, weather wise, I thought I'd make good on posting the photos from the polar plunge my wife took part in back in Minnesota.

This should help cool you off.

Thanks again for all the contributions that were made by local folks here in Kingman. Together we raised well over the $500 dollars I asked for in order to post these photos.

From the email box

I received a link to an article last week and thought I'd share it.

It is a quick read for buyers potentially thinking about buying a home in the current market.

Simple, yet good advice.

See linked article here.

March Sales Report (2008)

Bottom forming?? I know there's been tons of 'hopeful' talk about this phenomenon actually taking place once again at some point in our remaining lifetime... so is it happening here in the Kingman market?? I'm not sure.

But when you look at the charts you will see the average sales price and the median sales price not forming a bottom... but rather a cliff. Prices are falling fast. On bit of good news though... production numbers in terms of units sold increased over the March of 2007 figure AND obviously rose up against the very weak January and February figures for this year. All told though, this last quarter is easily the worst quarter of sales in recent history.

Let's get started... first the disclaimer...

Disclaimer... all data compiled for this report comes from the WARDEX Data Exchange and does not include any sales activity from outside that resource. All research is done only on single family homes and there is no inclusion of modular homes, commercial properties, or vacant land. The geographical area researched includes; all areas within the boundaries of the city of Kingman, north Kingman, the Hualapai Mountain area, and the Valle Vista subdivisions. Click here to see maps of the included area's.

Listings and sales in units chart:


Hey now... sales better in March then they were in September and March of last year... at least we have that going for us. Still way too many listings hitting the market meaning way too much competition for sellers and hardly any pressure on buyers. Clearly a trend that has move in the opposite direction.

Average listings and sales averages chart:

I thought about including a trend line for the last three months... but the chart already did that for me. Falling fast and hard now and the new sellers to the market are not keeping up. Real sellers will close the gap not widen it.

2005 through 2008 unit sales chart:

We never saw the orange line eclipse the yellow line last year, so it is somewhat surprising to see the new blue line beat the orange line. This marks the first time in 24 months that unit sales increased in a year over year look. Sales in units were UP... I say UP... 22.6% as compared to the previous March. Woot!! (oh yes... there is some sarcasm in my woot exclamation)

I have a feeling though that sales in units will be back down below last April's numbers. I hope I'm wrong.

2005 through 2008 average price chart:

So the previous chart showed some 'good' news because of the increase of sales year over year. The average sales price is DOWN... I say DOWN... 26.5% from the previous March. The average price per unit sold is LOWER... I say LOWER... than it was in March of 2005 = three years ago.

Will this stimulate some form of normalcy for prices?? Is this the new 'floor' for pricing?? Or does the average price continue to trend at the same pace??

Well... there is still a ways to drop in order to reach 2004 average prices. In March of 2004 the average price per unit sold was $112,646. The market average price for March is closer to 2004 levels than it was LAST YEAR.

2005 through 2008 median price chart:

Lowest median price for the month of March in the last four years. Says it all.

The range of units sold in March was between $62,000 through $305,000.

Average SFR statistics:

The average home sold in March had 3.08 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a 1.789 car garage, included 1,520 square feet of living space, and was built in 1992. The average hold sold for an average of $102 per square foot of living space.

It took an average of 109 days of marketing to attract a buyer to come to an agreement and a total of 149 days from the first day of marketing to the close of escrow.

Sellers reduced price $16,024 to attract a buyer on average from the first day of marketing, and conceded another $7,368 to the buyer in the transaction. The total average price concession for the homes sold in March was $23,392.

Bonus Charts:



The average price per square foot has dropped 22.7% since March of 2007.

On average, sellers conceded 13.15% from their original offering price for listings that closed in March of 2008 (sellers conceded just under 8% in March of 2007).

To sum it up... at the current sales run rate as compared to available inventory in the MLS, we find 17 months of inventory. A 'healthy' market has less than eight months of inventory (and that is pushing it).

See ya next time.

Eunice 'Arlene' Stevenson...

Some may have known her as Arlene, or Mrs. Stevenson, or the person that would out-fish or out-hunt whoever was on the trip, or the Arizona Diamondbacks biggest fan (but she'd be the first person to say that it hasn't been the same since Luis Gonzalez left the team)... quite simply I knew her as 'Ma'.... as in "Hey Ma... any green chili burritos left??"

Arlene is my wife Gail's mother and our family lost more than the family matriarch last last Friday afternoon, much more.

I had a great relationship with my mother-in-law. I learned early on that a few compliments here or there about her cooking went a long way... usually meaning an endless smorgasbord of whatever she was cooking up on that particular day. Heck, she would even over rule my wife and fix me another plate when Gail would try, in vain, to cut me off. My larger than it needs to be midsection was always grateful.

You had to be on your toes around Arlene, at least have your guard up, as she was quick with the wit and wouldn't spare anyone (no matter how much you loved her cooking). I'm sure there are many stories to share, at this time though I'm having difficulty choosing some of my favorites. One quick one is that she knows how much I love to fish. She had fished the lakes in our area for many years. Every time I'd head out on a trip and come back with the news that I didn't catch anything she'd let me have it in a good spirited way. She'd always threaten to have me take her out so that she could teach me how to angle for the biggest catch on the lake. Sadly for me (good news I guess for the fish) we never made it out on a lake together. I do, though, hope she is with me in spirit the next time I head out (I need all the help I can get).

I want to thank all the folks that have called or emailed (and even commented on the blog) since the news of her passing. Right now the family is strong and we will get through this. Today is the first day that the obituary ran in the paper. Here is the link. Please join the family at the service on Friday if you can make it.

Lastly, below is a some of Arlene's paintings. Along with being good at everything else, she had artistic talents. The images are scanned in photos of some of her oil paintings. Over the years since I've lived here I've spotted many of her works in various local businesses. I've come to understand that folks would ask her to make custom leather belts that were equally as impressive. She was also known to write some fine poetry.

So Ma... I know you are out there... thank you for everything. Thanks for being a friend, mother-in-law, consultant, and fellow baseball fan. You meant more to me than I'm sure I've ever expressed to you, I miss you, and I love you.

Readers... please enjoy the paintings, and once again thanks for the understanding.

Deceptive Mortgage Advertising...

Wander around the Internet long enough and you are bound to run into ads for a new mortgage with a promise of lowering your payments and/or offering other goodies. Some of this advertising (and not just on the Internet) is obviously 'deceptive'.

At this link you will find a great article about this 'practice' and what one Senator in Washington DC is trying to do about it... for now... collect examples of deceptive ads. Please click on that link and read it, also if you know of such deceptive ads be sure to forward those examples to the law maker. All the info you need is provided on the link.

Media report on Vegas housing market...

From this article linked here.

More than half of Las Vegas home sales in March were foreclosures or short sales, the president of Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors said Monday.

The association reported 1,478 escrow closings for single-family homes during the month, a 34.6 percent increase from February. It was the third straight monthly increase. Sales are down 7.9 percent from the same month a year ago.

Read the whole thing.

My preliminary report for Kingman in March shows an increase in unit sales over last month and last year in March. Good news... yes.

But... that is where the the good news (depending on how you look at it) ends.

I read reports about the 'bottom' forming in the housing markets in places... well... we have what appears to be a cliff forming. Check back to see how prices are falling... fast.

Still light on the posting...

Readers... please stay patient with the blog at this time. Late last week my Mother-in-law passed away and I've been attending to family business.

The sales report will be out later this week and we'll soon be back to a state of normalcy around here.

Thanks again for your patience.

Some reading...

Folks, I've been busy this week with some family business so I haven't been able to post on the blog all that much.

As you know, I follow other blogs about housing, investment, and other such types of markets. One of my very favorites is the BawlGuy Talking blog. I had been waiting for him to pen another article about the markets in general and it appeared a couple of days ago.

Here is the link.

I just get so tired of all the mainstream media hype about the imminent death of society because of the markets, and often I find Mr. Brown's take on things a needed breath of fresh air.

Feel free to disagree with him on his blog if you'd like. I keep reading his stuff because I know he's seen and experienced much more than I have about important issues like these.

As for the stock market in general... again I'm following closer in an effort to learn more... I'm finding the results very odd. Every time there seems to be bad news the Dow seems to go up. Today the jobs report came out and it looked pretty bad, yet the Dow is up slightly when I figured it'd be way down on the news.

March Listings Report (2008)

So much for the first quarter of the year... it is over... already!! Time is flying by and hopefully flying us in to a better selling season for single family homes in Kingman than we saw last year.

I'll be comparing figures from the previous month, but starting with this report I'll also include comparisons to the previous year.

The disclaimer and away we go...

Disclaimer... all data compiled for this report comes from the WARDEX Data Exchange and does not include any sales activity from outside that resource. All research is done only on single family homes and there is no inclusion of modular homes, commercial properties, or vacant land. The geographical area researched includes; all areas within the boundaries of the city of Kingman, north Kingman, the Hualapai Mountain area, and the Valle Vista subdivisions. Click here to see maps of the included area's.

Listings:

Today total listings available for single family residence equals 643 (up just a bit from 632 on March 1). The rate of new listings taken per day in March was 4.1. Compared to last years total listings available on the market are down 9.9%.

There were 127 new listings taken in March (back up as compared to 94 in February). The average asking price for the new listings is $206,106 (down from last months $211,721). The median asking price is $162,000 (also down from $165,000 previously). Newly listed units are down 15% from last year and the average sales price dropped 20% as compared to March of 2007.

The average newly listed home in March has 3.13 bedrooms, 2.2 baths, a 2.1 car garage, with 1,643 square feet of living space and was built in 1996. The average asking price per square foot of living space is $125. Lastly, 17 of the new listings were actually re-listed either by the same or different broker. 7 units are already under contract and 1 already closed.

The original price of new listings this month was from $57,000 through $654,500.

Units under contract:

As of today there are 104 total units under contract (holding steady compared to the number of 102 last month).

45 units entered into contracts in the month of March (basically the same as compared to 46 the previous month). The average asking price for homes that received contracts was $197,800 (up some from $176,235 last month) and the median asking price for March was $162,450 (up from the previous months $149,000 figure). Units entering contract are off from March of 2007 by 18% and the average marketing price is also down 4.7%.

The average home that went under contract in March has 3.09 bedrooms, 2 baths, a 2.178 car garage, with 1,704 square feet of living space, and was built in 1992. The average asking price per square foot of living space for listings that entered contract this month is $116. It was also priced $18,861 higher when it first was listed as compared to its current asking price (the average price reduction was $20,308 last month). The average marketing time to reach a contract was 104 days (from 141 last month).

The advertised price of units that entered contract was from $69,900 through $675,000.

Conclusions:

The rate of listing entering contract has remained steady the last two months, but the numbers are way down from the previous year. The up tick in new listing activity was not something that I wanted to see, but the average asking price has at least slipped so I think sellers are finally understanding where they need to set prices at to attract buyers. I'm not saying they are there yet, but at least on the right track.

Even though the average and the median price rose as compared to last month for units under contract, sellers still had to concede a large amount of money... and probably even more concessions in the agreement. I expect to see the final sales numbers for March continue to show increases in price concessions. Don't be surprised to find the average and the median sales price to be very close to the figures from March... of 2005.

So the first quarter is complete now. While I hate to predict the future I am starting to believe that we will see more total sales in units in 2008 as compared to 2007, but the prices will continue to slide back into the way-back machine. Buyers could start a run (albeit a slow jog) this year as each buyer has a different threshold they want to see before buying. Inventory of available listings is still way too high and won't be helped by the many foreclosures that this market will continue to see throughout this year.

Where is the bottom?? You tell me. I still feel as if a parachute is needed to safeguard against the fall.

Till the sales report... happy selling.

Response to a Daily Miner Op/ed...

Oh no... you may be thinking... what did Nick Wilbur write about this time that warrants a response?? Not Nick Wilbur?? Oh... it must be that rascally editor then, right?? No??

It is actually nothing of the sort... other than there was a certain op/ed piece in the KDM. The article appeared on the KDM website on 3/28... on the sports pages. I found it very interesting and noteworthy because the opinion was on the state of the National Hockey League. I know, I know... you must be thinking what is the National Hockey League?? Well I don't have time to explain, and this blog post is meant to be light hearted so hang in there with me on this one.

You'll find the entire column linked here.

The NHL's scoring, snoring dilemma

Shawn Byrne
Miner Sports Writer

First of all, thank you Mr. Byrne for even attempting to publish something about the NHL on your pages. I have to say that it is unexpected.

I notice many vehicles around town that have bumper stickers or window decals with NHL team emblems on them. I see people wearing hats and t-shirts as well with their favorite teams. I've even seen some homes with their teams represented on flag poles. There are what I call 'underground' fans of the great game of hockey... even way the heck out here in Kingman.

The team sport of hockey has always been my favorite sport to watch... and play. While I was a better baseball player, hockey has always been my game. I didn't start playing hockey until I was in my early adult years... and I only played in organized recreational leagues. I started in Las Vegas and now continue to play in Lake Havasu. I just realized that I still use my goalie chest and arm protective gear that I bought 14 years ago (could explain the inordinate amount of bruises I've received this season).

More from Mr. Byrne...

There are five games left in the National Hockey League's regular season. The Phoenix Coyotes are six points out of the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference.

I wish I cared.

A league that I used to follow closely has gone by the wayside, and now I can only hope that the league makes some changes to entice me back into the fold.

The games themselves are too long and have way too few goals or even opportunities to score.

I have my beef's with the NHL these days as well. I still follow the game quite closely, but starting in the 90's the game changed for the worse because of emphasizing a defensive brand of strategy to win games. Larger and often times less skilled players were chosen to play for teams over better skilled players because the bigger player got in the way better and closed off scoring chances and therefore goals. Team coaches protected their jobs by winning with this new strategy to clamp down on part of what makes the game of hockey great.

Of course fans were spoiled in the 80's and early 90's by great skilled players such as Gretzky, Lemieux, Yzerman (before he became a checking center), and a few others. Players like this simply had their way and piled up scoring chances and points. There were a few teams that were truly powerhouses while the rest of the league was merely average. The team defense concept was in response to being embarrassed by the best skilled players in the league... and it was easy.

As this year's regular season comes to a close, the team with the most points is the Detroit Red Wings. This doesn't mean they're the best team - the Stanley Cup playoffs will determine that.

The Red Wings average a measly 3.16 goals per game. The Coyotes are at a whopping 2.66. For a game that has 60 minutes of ice time, the lack of scoring results in a snooze fest for fans.

While I have my issues with the game of NHL hockey, in my opinion it is not the lack of scoring goals that makes the game a 'snooze fest'. Besides, Mr. Byrne the Stanley Cup playoffs start in a couple of weeks, there is no way you are going to tell me that those games will be a 'snooze fest' if you really are a hockey fan anyway.

The NHL will never be anything more than a cult following for a small percentage of sports fans. As much as I love the game, I've known this for many years.

Never mind capturing my attention on television, it can be complete torture attending a game live when you add in the 40 minutes of intermission time.

I attended my first live hockey game in 1986 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Up to that point, I dreamed of the day when I would be able to see my beloved (at that time) Rangers play in person.

Oh I now see your problem... you're a Skirts fan (Skirts is derived from the team being called at times the 'Blue Shirts' because they wear blue jerseys, I think lowly of the Rangers and therefore I refer to them as the 'Skirts', 'Smurfs', 'Rags', and even 'scourge of humanity'... but forgive me, I'm a Flyers fan).

I'd hate to spend my hard earned to sit in the 'Garden' and watch the 'Rags' play hockey as well.

I was eager to attend the Pittsburgh Penguins-Rangers game. I took the PATH train over to Manhattan, walked to the Garden, and then was crushed.

The marquee said, "Rangers - Sold Out."

I ventured to the front of the arena just to reminisce about the few times I had gone to the Garden as a youngster. I was staring at the model of the seating arrangement located in front of the ticket windows. I silently wished there was some way I could get into the magical palace.

From nowhere, a guy approached me then and asked, "Do you need a ticket?"

"What do you have?" I asked.

He showed me a red ticket. I looked at the model and my eyes lit up. Red seat! That would be right behind the glass! "How much?" I asked.

"Ticket value," he said.

Red seat!! Hilarious. A real hockey experience would call for a fan to sit in the 'Blues'. Heck I even did that once... I learned some incredibly wild foul language in that experience. Glad I didn't wear any orange and black that day.

For only $20 I sat right behind the glass for my first hockey game. I had a fight break out right in front of me, and without hesitation, I became a glass pounder.

When I left that game, however, I was glad that it was over. It was a night filled with anticipation that ended with major disappointment. Three periods of hockey, two intermissions and an overtime period that ended in a 0-0 tie. Not exactly what I would call fun.

Even then, I knew that hockey needed to spice things up some.

Zero to zero games are rare these days, just so you know. The NHL adopted a new rule that if the game is tied at the end of regulation and overtime (even at 0-0) teams hold a 'shootout' to determine the winner. A goal has to be scored at some point.

I hate the 'shootout' for the record. Sure, I watch the shootout and am entertained by it, but it is a silly way to determine a winner of a game... that's just my opinion.

Mr. Byrne... just so you know the league front office has been tinkering with changes throughout this entire decade. The game still suffers.

In a recent discussion with my boss about the state of hockey, we arrived at a couple ways for the game to be improved, and maybe, bring us back into the fold.

Eliminating the center line would be a good start. Keep the two-line passing rule, but get rid of the middle line to allow for more fast breaks. More scoring would lead to more excitement.

That's what baseball did. They lowered the pitcher's mound in 1969, and more runs have been produced. Additionally, stadiums are now built to encourage more home runs. When a pitcher throws a shutout today, it really means something.

It would be the same for hockey.

Another FYI, since the 2005 season, the red line and two line passing infractions were taken out of the game. If you watch closely you will see attempts at long stretch passes to forwards moving ahead of the defenders creating glorious chances... when those attempts are successful. The red line only matters in terms of 'icing' infractions at this time... but the coach of the Coyotes (the Great One) has offered an idea to remove 'icing' calls short of the red line but only after the puck gains the neutral zone. If this happens... the red line is dead.

When a goalie keeps another team scoreless, it would have more meaning than it does now.

If you are really that jacked up to see many goals, I invite you to come to Sara Park in Havasu this upcoming Wednesday for the finals of the league I play in. Last week I played goalie for two teams and gave up 9 and 6 goals in each of those games... and both of my teams won their games.

I've posted 2 shutout's in the last 3 years playing goaltender. Winning still is more important than shutout's to me. Team play and defense determines the amount of goals that are going to get by me, this year all four of the teams in the league are balanced and high scoring.

Another rule that we decided would add some excitement would be a take-off from basketball's three-seconds rule.

On power plays, a defensemen could only be in a predetermined area in front of the goal for five seconds. The defensemen would have to skate out of the area, opening up the inside for an attack by the team with the advantage.

Boo!! Any rule that borrows from basketball is not needed in hockey. Besides, you won't find D-men camped out in front of the goal unless there is an offensive player camped out in front of the goal. And five seconds is a long time in hockey when you are a player down trying to kill a penalty.

These two simple changes would allow me (and maybe my boss) to watch the Coyotes' last five games like a fanatic, and whether or not Phoenix made the postseason, I would tune into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

I really miss the days when the NHL meant something to me.

Can't help you with they Yote's. They will miss the playoffs this year but I think they've turned a corner and we should see them make the playoffs next year. They have a really nice young team in the making.

And since one of your requested changes has already happened, I urge you to watch the playoffs this year. The Western Conference part of the tournament should be incredible. The Ducks, Sharks, and Red Wings are great teams in a great conference.

Of course I'm partial to a certain team in the Eastern Conference that still has work to do to qualify for the playoffs. They won't win it all this year, but like the Coyotes, the Flyers are a team on the rise and my expectations will rise.

Mr. Bryne, please know that us hockey fans are out here in Kingman. We are more of an underground kind of group. I can't speak for the others, but this hockey fan appreciated seeing your column in the Miner. Throw us a bone once in awhile.

Also, I've mentioned our league in Havasu. We are winding down play for this year (it just gets too hot to play outdoors). Sure, it's only a roller hockey league but it is the best thing we have at this time. No one can afford to keep a sheet of ice in Mohave County (not even the good old boys with all their riches). Hockey is still hockey though. There is a nice youth organization in Havasu and an adult league.

There is talk of a new events center in the Bullhead City area that would bring a minor league hockey team to the area. In my opinion a better value for your dollar. No one will ever confuse Mohave County with a province from Canada in terms of hockey, but the sport is on the ever so slow incline of interest in this area.

Realtor fees...

I've been following the stock and commodity markets here and there for the last year. I'm certainly not a financial guru and I'm not investing in either at the moment. I'm attempting to learn a bit. In my browser (Firefox) I usually open a few tabs and keep them open for most of the day. One of those tabs has been MarketWatch.com and as it just so happens, they've been including many real estate related articles that have attracted my attention. You may have seen some links from my blog posts that will take you to an article on MarketWatch. (I am getting the feeling though that MarketWatch is the Fox News of Wall Street)

I found another this morning that is worth sharing. The writer seems to be answering questions from a 'mailbag' of sorts and addresses two in this article linked here.

The first question is about the building market, a fine read but nothing new.

The next question addresses Realtor fees. I'm going to break the question and the answer down in the following...

Realtor commissions

Question: I understand that the standard commission the seller pays a Realtor has been around 6%. We would like to sell our house but with the market downturn, we lost equity we had built up in our home, which makes the sale prohibitive if we are to pay 6%. Our home is worth $220,000 and that is what we owe. Do you see the 6% figure change with the market conditions? --Tatjana, Minneapolis.

It just so happens that my wife and I are closing on a home purchase in Minnesota and I've come to understand that the seller paid more for the home than he is selling it to us for. There are no Realtor fees being paid to anyone (not even a referral fee for me) for this transaction.

Sellers all over the country are in this predicament, not all sellers mind you... mostly sellers that have bought within the last few years. We've all heard by now that many sellers that are upside-down are simply walking away letting the financing institution that loaned them the purchase money to deal with it.

It won't be uncommon for sellers to have to bring money to the closing table themselves to close a transaction for property... with Realtor representation or without... during this current market for certain circumstances.

The seller above assumes that she can get the dollar amount she shared. She is saying selling at that number leaves her in a break even situation without hiring a Realtor. So I say, don't hire a Realtor.

Here is the author of the article's response...

Answer: First of all, there is no such thing as a "standard" commission. Sales commissions are negotiable, and everyone is free to charge whatever they want.

Bingo!! The answer goes on but this first couple of sentences seem to be mythical to many folks thinking of hiring a sales representative to market and successfully transact a property transfer.

That said, the truth is that most brokers charge the same rate, and most won't bargain. It's either take it or leave it. Most won't cut their rate, either, unless the property is so pristine that it will sell itself with little or no effort on the agent's part or the seller agrees to show the property himself whenever a possible buyer shows up at his front door.

Yeppers... most brokerages won't bargain. No need to... in my experience... most consumers don't negotiate. However, both sides have fault in this. On my side, we have to do a better job at explaining and justifying our fees... and on the consumer side, they have to do a better job at simply asking for explanations and justifications of fees they are about to agree to.

Of course consumers could pick up the yellow pages and call three or four brokerages and find out that each one charges a 6% listing fee with no offers to bargain. The consumer is going to be faced with a certain perception that leads to a reality... that really isn't all that certain.

The first question that should be asked of a broker is... "are your fees negotiable??" If the answer is no... hang up and move down the list until you hear the "yes" answer.

But -- and it's a big and important but -- there are plenty of brokers whose business model is different from their colleagues. Some charge a point below their competitors to set themselves apart. And then there are discount brokers whose fee is based upon the services you desire - the rate might be different if you do your own advertising, for example, or if you hold your own open house. And there are flat-fee brokers who charge a minimum amount to simply put your house into the all-important multiple listing service.

While I am not a broker myself, I am part of this new progressive group of professionals that does have a different business model. If you are a consumer... you can find pro's like me. The above is just a few examples out of probably thousands of different possibilities.

Realize, however, that you won't get full service with these companies. In other words, you get what you pay for.

Oh, that's nice and all -- but I disagree on the premise. First of all, someone define 'full service' for every consumer. You won't be able to... each and every transaction that I've been involved in since becoming a Realtor has been different. One size does not fit all. Yet all of the transactions I've been a party to... transacted basically under the same manner.

Put property on the sales market. Attract a buyer. Negotiate the sales agreement. Close the transaction. The fundamentals are the same, but there are many different ways to accomplish the fundamentals.

I hope you understand where I'm going with this. Full service is subjective.

You might also be interested to know that commissions are rising ever-so-slightly, not falling, largely because brokers maintain they have to work harder and spend more money in advertising and the like to sell houses in this market.

Maybe commissions are rising a bit... but profit margins are slimming... mainly due to marketing efforts (they cost money).

Profit margins you ask?? Don't tell me that just because I may collect 6% in fees for transacting a property transfer that you think ALL of that money goes into my next spending spree at Target (in Bullhead City).

It is taking longer to market a home and if your typical broker is advertising your listing then he/she is spending money to advertise in one form or another. Gone right now are the olden days (of 2005) when a broker put a listing on the MLS and received an offer on that property five minutes later via the fax machine. Back in that 'golden age' of sales, I noticed many listings were being taken for 5% or 4% on single family homes. Now... not so much.

Also, many brokers are charging so-called "administrative" fees because they say the volume of paperwork and legal requirements are such that their costs have multiplied over the years.

Well... could be. I'm wondering if the author here is referring to 6% plus 'administrative' fees?? I haven't seen that one as of yet. Sounds lame though.

I believe they should raise their commissions to cover these costs so sellers will know what they are paying, but most prefer to sneak in the fee when the seller is signing a listing agreement and doesn't pay much attention to anything other than the commission, if he pays any attention at all.

Whoah... loaded allegations there I'd say, but if true... that's bad -- really bad.

Most sellers don't even question the charge when it appears on the settlement sheet, if they notice it then. But they should, and unless they were told about it upfront, they should refuse to pay it. I have, even when the agent said if I don't pay it, the broker will take the fee out of his share of the commission.

Sucks for that agent then. The agent needed to explain the 'fees' up front in a clear and concise manner. Clients need to know what they are paying fees on and it is only up to us... the folks in the business to make sure our clients are in the know. I consider that a minimum for 'full service'.

I'm a lucky agent today. I'm closing on a home today (fingers firmly crossed as we speak, making it more difficult to type than normal). I was hired by a seller last May to list a nice home in a favorable area of Kingman. We entered the market at a then comparable price for the market.

We negotiated my fees well up front and it was clear to my client what he would be paying for if I successfully marketed and closed a transaction for his home. I believe that he would tell you today that he got full service at this time in this market with prices falling monthly. Yet today (if all goes well) he will save $4,100 in fees as compared if I had only offered a 6% commission rate.

My client had to adjust the asking price (down) to be in line with the market during the time I was marketing the property. My client finally received an offer he could agree to, and today we close (fingers still crossed though, taking nothing for granted).

I consider this transaction profitable for my business, I negotiated for a fee that worked for me... and for my client. The transaction would have been more profitable if I had closed on it closer to last May than at the end of this March... but that is and was my risk.

Th bottom line... consumers MUST negotiate fees, MUST feel as if they understand the fees, and MUST hold their broker accountable to those fees. I know that I've been writing here about sellers in this post, but the MUST's apply to the buyers as well.

If you've read this post, you cannot say that you don't know of a real estate professional that won't bargain or negotiate fees. You know of at least one. There are many out there and before too long my guess is the business model I use will outnumber the old fashioned 6% model.

How much will you pay in fees on your next transaction on a property?? The answer is totally up to you.

MOCO Interview...

I'm going to try something new and a bit different. I'm going to try and interview some folks from time to time and share whatever insights they may have with the readers here.

My first victim... errr... interviewee is someone I consider to be a good friend. I've known him for less than a year, but in his time in the Kingman area he proved to be a solid citizen. He has recently decided to move on out of the area and pursue other interests in California. So this is sort of an 'exit interview' if you will.

Today's interviewee is none other than Brent Frazier. Now many of you don't know Brent and that is fine, he was the local public relations person for Rhodes Homes most recently while working for a firm out of the Phoenix area. Because of that relationship, Brent at times seemed to gain some notoriety -- good or bad depending on who was talking.

While in Kingman, Brent spent time helping the Boys & Girls Club raise money, helped form the organization formed to create more voter awareness and participation -- known as CIVIC, and was involved in other clubs such as Rotary.

Now Brent is a couple of years younger than me and we happen to share some of the same kinds of humor and other interests (mostly political and sports related). So some of the questions you will see asked are somewhat serious and others... well not very serious at all. You are free to interpret the questions and answers in any manner you wish to. This interview was just an idea to have some fun with... but not at anyone's expense other than for the interviewee and the interviewer.

So let's get to know Brent and hear his own words.

Here we go...

MOCO Real: Where were you born, raised, and schooled?? Tell us what you studied in college and share some of your experiences working for the Republican Party. Where do you see yourself and career in 5 years??

Brent: I was born in Lynwood, California. I lived in Southern Cal until the age of 15. We bounced around a couple of times, which was probably a prelude of things to come for me. When we moved to Arizona we moved to Bullhead City. My grandparents had been living there for several years. To this day I’m not quite clear on why the move was made. I went to high school (10-12th grades) at Mohave High School. My freshman year took place at Don Lugo High School in Chino, Ca. Culture shock would be an understatement when describing my initial reaction to school in BHC. I came from an extremely diverse student body of over 2,000 (that’s just my freshman class) to a very homogeneous student population of roughly 1,500 (for the entire school).

Shortly after turning 21 I had an opportunity to move to Tempe. Figuring it was time for a change I jumped on it. I moved into a three bedroom apartment with three other guys in our early 20’s. It was like living in a frat house without the crazy initiation rituals and hazing.

Fast forward to the last 90’s and I am now enrolled in Arizona State University. After changing my major twice after realizing that my academic pursuits weren’t quite in line with my abilities I ended up getting a Bachelors of Interdisciplinary Studies. The great thing about this program is that I got to study two different areas rather than the one that a traditional degree program offers. I studied political science and education.

It was around this time that I had begun getting interested in politics and government and the role that each plays in our daily lives. In high school I couldn’t even tell you the difference between a Democrat or Republican (there’s probably less difference nowadays). While completing my degree I had an opportunity to volunteer for Senator Jon Kyl’s 2000 campaign. I did typical volunteer/intern activities (stuffing envelopes for mailings, answering phones, etc.).

My last semester required me to complete an internship. Given my experience with the Senator’s campaign I was able to intern in his Phoenix office. This was a great experience that allowed me to get to know some great people. In addition to the kinds of duties I described above my primary project was putting together a program where the Senator would invite prospective Service Academy candidates to learn about the opportunities that each of our Service Academies offer and ask questions of representatives from each. We held the program in the auditorium at Dobson High School. It included a video presentation as well as comments from the Senator, and each Academy representative. It went very well and I was quite proud of it. The gentleman I was working under in the Senator’s office was quite pleased as well.

This experience allowed me to obtain a job working for Congressman John Shadegg. He represents Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District which encompasses parts of North Phoenix and Glendale. My worked the front desk and was essentially a glorified intern. However, I was able to get more involved in constituent issues and help them to get problems solved. I was responsible for dealing with issues pertaining to: education, military, veterans affairs and service academy nominations.

At the time I accepted the job working for the Congressman little did I know that just a few short months later one of the single most important events in history (and certainly the most important since I’ve been alive) would take place. I woke up the morning of September 11th as many others did not knowing that anything had, or was about to happen. Upon learning that a terrible and gravely historic event had taken place my thoughts turned to what the day would have in store at the office. It turns out that nothing overly dramatic took place. We spent the entire day in our Chief of Staff’s office watching the news coverage that pervaded every single outlet. We had a few phone calls from folks providing their theories for why this incident took place, but other than that it was not very busy as far as our office was concerned.

The excitement I anticipated on that day did end up coming about however. It was a few weeks later that the anthrax scare we all experienced began to sweep the nation. Several DC offices had scares and at least one U.S. Senator had anthrax exposure. I remember being on conference calls with all the other congressional offices from around the country getting instructions on how to open our mail.

I was one of those moments that you clearly pay attention to what’s being said, but in the back of your mind you know that these things only happen to “other people” and would never happen to “us”. We were told to be aware of suspicious packages that were wrapped in materials other than those typically used, were sent from a foreign nation, had foreign or indistinguishable writing on it as well as a few other clues to look for. The most important being a white powder inside.

Well, as it turns out one day we received such a package. Well, almost. It met all of the indicators we were to look for, accept for the white powder…at least from what I could tell. I handed it over to our office manager who promptly contacted the FBI. The man from the Bureau was there about ten minutes then left. About 20 minutes after he left I was sitting at the front desk when the door opened. In walks a fireman in full gear, oxygen mask…everything. He cleared out our office. I walked out to find 2 fire engines and 3 police cars and someone wrapping red tape that read “Bio-Hazard” around our office. Seeing the stunned and interested faces of the people in neighboring offices was something I’ll never for get.

It turned out that there was nothing in that envelope and the firemen didn’t find anything of concern, but they felt it was best to not take any chances. Needless to say it made for a memorable day.

A couple of months later I had accepted a position with the Arizona Association of Industries (AAI). AAI is a manufacturing trade association and has recently merged with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. When I started I was hired to be groomed to become their in-house lobbyist. Over time the true nature of the association and its financial condition became apparent and our staff began to wither. Over the 2 ½ years I worked there we went from a staff of 9 and 2 contract employees to just me. I was responsible for the day to day operations of the business as well as member recruitment and retention, staffing committee and board meetings, planning and executing events as well as working with our board to coordinate our lobbying efforts.

I left AAI to go back to school. Fast forward two years later and I had been offered and accepted a position with the Arizona Republican Party. I was responsible for working with our internal database and disseminate voter registration lists to candidates and issue campaigns. I also helped out with other projects going on around the office. While I was there I also became the Arizona contact for the RNC’s Voter Vault program.

While working for the Republican Party I met a guy by the name of Kyle Moyer. He owned a firm that ran political campaigns for candidates as well as issue campaigns for corporate clients. Kyle and I had developed a good rapport and discussed some other opportunities for working together prior to him finding out that I’m originally from Mohave County. Once he learned this he asked me how I’d feel about going back. At the time he was expecting some growth in the firm and needed to bring Tony Johnson back to the office in Scottsdale. He and I both figured that given my background in Mohave County it would be a good fit.

As for where I see myself in 5 years I would have to say that I will be married with children and hopefully being in business for myself. Whether or not I’ll still be living in San Diego is another story, but we’ll see.

MOCO Real: Okay, good... the boring stuff is out of the way. Onto more important things.

Next question...

MOCO Real: Many people know that you are a LA Dodgers fan, but if you were a Philadelphia Phillies fan… would you have booed Mike Schmidt during his heyday in Philly??

Brent: If I were a Philadelphia Phillies fan I’d hang myself. Hence, I would be unable to boo Mike Schmidt or anyone else.

MOCO Real: No... sorry... that was the wrong answer. We were looking for something along the lines of, "of course I'd boo Schmidty as it is a requirement for Philly fans to 'boo' the best players we ever had."

Next question...

MOCO Real: You’ve recently resigned from your position with a public relations firm out of Phoenix and have decided to relocate to another state. Why??

Brent: The short answer is that there were no opportunities for me at this time in Kingman. I had been in communication with people from the new hospital about a position similar to the one I held with Kyle Moyer; however, they are not going to be filling that position for a couple of months yet and I had to make a decision right away.

I could have stayed with my firm as I had an offer to go back to Phoenix, but decided that it was time for me to make a change. I had an opportunity to move in with a buddy of mine in San Diego and I took it. Simple as that.

Next question...

MOCO Real: The public relations firm that used to have you in their employ, used to have a fairly notorious client that made news in Mohave County from time to time. I heard the former client of your former employer is a master planned development developer. Is it true that part of your expected duties to the former client were; babysitting his children, making late night Taco Bell runs for him, and piloting his helicopter?? If those rumors were unfounded, would you please describe some of the duties you had??

Brent: Ahhh yes…you’re referring to Rhodes Homes. Yes I had quite an interesting relationship with that client. Actually, he preferred Buffalo Wild Wings to Taco Bell, which meant that I had to head to Bullhead City, as there is no Buffalo Wild Wings in Kingman. Furthermore, he enjoyed going to a good sports bar to watch his favorite teams and sadly, there wasn’t such a place in Kingman so we had to head to Havasu or Bullhead.

As for piloting his helicopter I was supposed to begin lessons to do so just prior to him cutting back on operations in Mohave County. Well, when those cuts got made, guess what else got cut? You guessed it…my helicopter pilot lessons. Darn the luck.

As for other duties…I’d tell you, but I’d have to kill you.

MOCO Real: Well as you know, killing is not allowed at MOCO... so we'll leave it at that.

Next question...

MOCO Real: Will Hawaiian styled shirts ever go out of style??

Brent: Absolutely not. Living out here near the beach has proven this to me. In fact I’ve started collecting cans so that I can save up for my Tommy Bahama wardrobe.

MOCO Real: Good news for my Don Ho section of my wardrobe.

Next question...

MOCO Real: You served on the Board of Directors for the CIVIC group that was formed to promote the benefits of voting and increase participation of voters. That sounds nice and all, but wasn’t it true that the real agenda of the CIVIC group was to pass out brochures to unsuspecting attendees that promoted the new proposed ‘Pravada’ development in Golden Valley??

Brent: In spite of popular belief CIVIC was not intended to promote voter education and participation in the coming elections. It was a secret ploy by Jim Rhodes to sucker the fine people of Kingman into coercing the city council and other elected officials into supporting his Pravada plot. Worked like a charm didn’t it? In the words of John “Hannibal” Smith, “I love it when a plan comes together”.

MOCO Real: Nice 'A' Team reference... takes me back all the way to the fifth grade.

Next question...

MOCO Real: Isn’t it a fact that the ‘brainchild’ behind the formation of CIVIC was Jim Rhodes himself and that he attended each CIVIC meeting and required attendees to learn the secret Jim Rhodes handshake before entering and being duped into the following 90 minute hard sales pitch to reserve lots in ‘Pravada’??

Brent: Actually, Jim didn’t attend the meetings himself, I had a small camera implanted in my eye and a tiny mic inserted in my nose that would allow him to watch the proceedings from the comfort of his limousine. He liked to cruise the Las Vegas strip counting his money and watching CIVIC meetings.

MOCO Real: Well the CIVIC meetings that I have attended were very good, so it does not surprise me that the former client of your former employer would want to stay abreast of the topics at those meetings. And I've heard that he has the kind of money to use at his discretion to pull something like that off.

Next question...

MOCO Real: For some reason you happen to be a Buffalo Bills fan, an embarrassment for you I’m sure. Who would you rather have playing defensive end in their hey-day… Bruce Smith or Reggie White??

Brent: Considering that Bruuuuce actually played for my beloved Bills I’m not going to dis him by saying I’d rather have Reggie. I loved watching Reggie and believe he’s one of the greatest players of all time, but I don’t think he would have done any better for the Bills than Bruuuuuce did. However, given some of Reggie’s public comments in front of government bodies I would have loved to have him speak up for my client at city council meetings.

MOCO Real: Mr. White is peacefully resting in the 'big stadium in the sky' so we won't ever know what he could have contributed at local government meetings.

Next question...

MOCO Real: In your honest assessment… on what exact day will I turn on my water faucet in Kingman only to see exactly zero water run from it because your former employers former client used up all the water??

Brent: I just consulted with my Magic 8-Ball and it has indicated to me that on December 8th 2073 (my 100th birthday) at approximately 5:39am. This is also the day that the final home in Pravada will be constructed and the 10,000,000th resident will have moved to Mohave county.

MOCO Real: Imagine the traffic on Stockton Hill... yeesh!!

Next question...

MOCO Real: In your time here in the Kingman area you proved to be a very popular person and many folks seemed to have known your every move. You became quite a ‘hit’ on the local political scene… some say due to your uncanny ability to ‘stir the stew’… others say due to your former employers former client’s penchant for allegedly enriching wannabe elected officials. An ‘unnamed’ source on a local Internet discussion forum had the following to say… “I do know for a fact that BF (Brent Frazier) has approached at least one candidate trying to give that candidate money.” Dude… how do you answer this allegation??

Brent: Lies…lies…lies. I approached at least 5 candidates and offered to contribute to their campaigns…yours just wasn’t one of them. Sorry dude.

MOCO Real: By the way Brent, you are a lousy 'rumored to be' campaign manager.

Next question...

MOCO Real: Also from the same ‘unnamed’ source came a perceived problem because it was alleged that you (a) attended every City candidate forum, (b) offered to give City candidates money, and (c) attended every City Council meeting. If the above is true then it is a problem in my eyes. You were just living in the Chaparal Mesa subdivision (which is outside of the Kingman city limits) and not eligible to vote in city elections. How dare you, as a citizen of this country, attend these functions and offer to give money to candidate(s)??

Brent: Again, lies…lies…lies. I missed at least one City candidate form. I missed a handful of city council meetings and as I previously stated I offered to contribute to no less than 5 council candidates campaigns.

As for my living in the county and outside of the city limits, guilty as charged.

Next question...

MOCO Real: Obama or Hillary… who are you voting for??

Brent: Isn’t Obama’s full name: Barak Hillarysinsane Obama?

Ok, you’ve pinned me down, and forced me to make a decision. That’s rough for a guy who’s by nature very indecisive. However, if I must make a choice I would say that I’ll be voting for:

Mickey Mouse.

MOCO Real: Well, I do suspect that Mr. Mouse will get some 'write in' votes with the limited choices we are facing in the upcoming elections this year at the national level.

Last question...

MOCO Real: Okay… you’ve moved on to what you think will be greener pastures for you. What conditions would have to change for consideration of ever living in the Kingman area again??

Brent: In all seriousness, had there been even one opportunity for me to earn a decent income with a company that had growth opportunities for me I might very well still be living in Kingman (to the dismay of several people…ok, person, who regularly reads your blog).

As I stated earlier, I tried to get a job that would keep me there, but nothing panned out. I mean, sure, I could get a job there. There are some jobs, but nothing that one could consider a career; nothing that would allow me to own a home, support a family, or enjoy the kinds of things that all of us would like.

Will I find that here in San Diego? Maybe, maybe not. I do believe that my chances are much greater here of finding the things I’m looking for at this point in my life. I’ve always said that if I were retiring or starting a family that I could see myself moving back up to Mohave County. Hopefully there’s some water left for me and my family when that time comes.

MOCO Real: Thanks Brent, you've been a good sport about all this. I wish you the best in your new endeavors and wherever life's journey takes you.

One thing I have noticed since Brent has moved out of the area a couple of weeks back... the weather sure has been better... coincidence??

Two years now...

MOCO Real turns two today.

Those risky loans we keep hearing about...

A real good friend of mine works for IndyMac in mortgaging. We mostly talk about sports related stuff since we are both fans of the same teams. Once in awhile we make fun of our other friends, but rarely do we talk business (even though our industries are closely tied together).

IndyMac has been in the news lately as one of the many banking institutions that is poised to fail, according to many Internet types that seem to know everything about everything. Even the talking heads on the cable news outlets forecast death and dismemberment for these institutions.

My good friend is in upper management (a regional executive... but I'm not sure of his title) for IndyMac and I cringed as I asked him how things were for him... such as job security right now. His answer somewhat surprised me. He said that his orders have changed a bit and he will be part of a group that will be focused on approaching 'performing' borrowers with ARM's (adjustable rate mortgages) and other sorts of creative financing programs to get the borrowers off those (what could be) toxic loan programs and into a locked long term loan. He says the task is very large (over $6 Billion dollars worth of loans in just the portfolio he will be helping to manage).

However, he is excited about the task and is positive that it will make a difference. He also told me to check out a new company that is being set up to do basically the very same thing.

Here is a link to an article that appeared on Monday about new start up PennyMac, or Private National Mortgage.

From the article...

PennyMac will raise capital from private investors, acquire loans from financial institutions seeking to reduce their mortgage exposures, and seek to create value for both borrowers and investors through loan servicing.

Sounds simple (I'm sure there are complications and specifics both I and the article are leaving out), and it sure sounds tons better than a government bailout.

Lastly, it does sound like there will be plenty of money making opportunities and even profit margins along the way. We shall see.

Discuss...

I found a couple of statements on the Internet this morning and just wanted to pass them along. Feel free to discuss them in the comments.

An unwillingness to take personal responsibility is the single biggest threat to growing prosperity in society.

And...

Conservatives are much less likely to rack up a big credit card bill than 'liberals' are.