I just got a new ebook from Seth Godin and wanted to share it with all of you. It is a small collection of essays that give us a perspective for the future. Click here for a free copy of the book.

Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson

Here are a few tech tips that I want to share with you. Check them out and see if there is any help. I used the auto repair quote one just today to check on some pricing.

More Convenient Then Remembering: Sometimes, we find articles and sites we want to revisit. Remembering addresses or bookmarking isn’t always convenient. Futz.me is a handy little site. Start by setting up your Futz.me account. When there’s something you want to read later, use your address bar. Enter “futz.me/username” (minus quotes) before the Web address. Futz.me will e-mail you a link to the page. Futz.me can do more than that. You can send yourself a reminder via the address bar. You can also send pages and reminders to your phone  http://futz.me/site

Get Auto Repair Estimates: It is difficult to find a mechanic for your car because it is a challenge to comparison shop. When it comes to repairs, getting the right estimate can be messy. That’s where RepairPal can help. It will provide you with estimates for car maintenance and repairs. Of course, there’s more to RepairPal than estimates. It will also help you locate mechanics that specialize on your make of car. You can also post your car questions. Or, visit the Encyclopedia to learn more about cars. http://repairpal.com

Exercising Your Brain Too: Head over to Games for the Brain. You’ll find plenty of games to help you keep your mind in shape. There are fun word games. You can also play Mahjongg, Sudoku and Chess. There are also some games that you can put on your Web site or blog. These games are great to give your brain a quick little tune up. But, be careful! It would be too easy to play for hours!  http://www.gamesforthebrain.com

Add Custom Frames To Photos: Not only for Christmas and other holidays. How about those photos you send to prospective clients? Why not create your own photo cards? It is much easier than you think. In fact, you don’t need to know anything about photo editing. HP has a variety of photo frames and borders you can use. And they’re free! Start by picking the design you’d like. Then, upload your photos. You can upload from your computer. Or, choose a photo hosted on Snapfish. Simply drag your photo onto the photo frame or border. When you’re done, print your card! http://www.hp.com/hho/hp_create/photo_frames_borders.html

Compare Estimated With Actual Gas Mileage: New car estimated gas mileage is usually optimistic to actual. So, you may wonder how the actual mileage stacks up. After all, your driving style and other factors play a role in mileage.That’s where Fuelly can help. This site is useful for anyone who is car shopping. You can see owners’ actual mileage. You’ll see just how optimistic the estimated mileage is.You can also use it to see how your driving habits affect your mileage. Or, it can help you determine when to get your car serviced!  http://www.fuelly.com

Let me know if I can help with anything. I will do all I can.

Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson
678-231-1578 Cell

Tech tips courtesy of Rick DeLuca @ www.RealEstateIdeaClub.com

Now more than ever, it makes sense (and cents) to protect your money. A thorough examination of your everyday expenditures will likely reveal areas where you can save some of your hard earned money.

For example, did you know 78 percent of cell phone minutes go unused? Scrutinizing your cell phone bill may expose features and minutes that are being paid for but not being used. Do away with these unused minutes, and you’ll save money every month.

In this month’s Item of Value, you will find many ways to stretch the value of your dollar, such as eliminating wasteful spending or negotiating for a better price. In some cases, there may be ways you can trim unnecessary expenses from your monthly bills.  I have also included a coupon from my Physical Trainer, Celeste Reeves that let’s you get started on a training plan for free if you want. Check it out and see if that helps.

It’s a great time to look after your money, and these tips can help!

Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson
678-231-1578 Cell

BTW, I am never too busy for your referrals!!!  Call me if you know someone looking to buy right now. It is a great time.

This one is about politics. You have been warned.

I have been thinking and talking and listening. There is a lot of grousing about how things are going. Unemployment is high, the economy is bumping along but not recovering as we would like it to. Politicians are making promises about health care that our grand children are going to have to pay for. If you listen to the news you can get really depressed so I don’t listen. Some would say I am playing ostrich and burying my head (they don’t really do that you know ) but I would say that I am taking the only path I have open to me.

I am planning for election day!!!

There are 435 congressmen, 100 senators, 1 president. 536 people. People just like you and me and we have the chance to fire them. Technically we could fire almost all of them at once. The senators and the president are on a different schedule but ALL of the congressmen and a third of the Senators are up for ‘renewal’ in November of 2010.

I have decided on one thing and on one exception. I will vote AGAINST any incumbent (already in office) UNLESS they are signed on to the FairTax bill in their house. Congressmen can sign on to HR25 for the House of Representative and S296 for the Senate. You can check on them at www.FairTax.org of you want to know who is in and who is out.

Getting the FairTax in could solve a whole bunch of problems. Our economy would flourish, unemployment would plummet, new businesses would start and we would be the economic powerhouse we once were. It would also remove much of the power in Washington DC by limiting what the special interest groups could do limiting corruption so they do a lot of speaking out against it.

If you want to know more (you’re going to have to do some reading on your own) you can go to www.FairTax.org and learn. It is possible TO read it because it is not nearly as complex as our current tax code.

If you want to make a real difference, stop watching the news and start reading for yourself from their sources. Don’t let them just report ‘all the news we think you should know’ (that’s a quote from a news anchor). Read some history from books like The Forgotten Man (by Amity Shlaes) about the Great Depression and what the politicians tried to do and plan your own vote for next November. It is really the only thing you CAN do. Everything else is just grousing.

My choice to replace an incumbent will always be a Libertarian if one is running but I will vote for anyone that will make a change. We need to upset the cart for these guys and gals that have gotten so comfortable that they think it is about them.

It is not about them. It is about this country and what it stands for. We do not want to conquer the world. We want to bring freedom to choose who your leaders are and how you live your life. We have not acquired land for ourselves from another country except to bury our dead. (check out Normandy and some of the other sites sometime)

I got a little long on this one and there is more to come. If you disagree with me that is ok. That is the way things are supposed to work in this country but we are still friends and we still respect each other and our opinions.

Our government has gotten out of hand and I don’t think there is all that much difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. We really need a third party if we are going  to get this fixed and it might not be the Libertarians but they have a better plan than the other two. If you have another option I would love to hear it. Call me.

Alright, I’m done for now.

Thanks for listening,
Jerry W. Robertson

I am a blessed man. A few years ago I was led to make a change in my career to move from Engineering and Industrial Automation to Real Estate. Some of you know the story and some of you don’t but that is not the point. The point I want to make is that I am blessed to have so many people in my life that have helped me make that change. I could not have done it without my family, friends, clients and co-workers.

You have sent me referrals, listened to me, coached me, guided me, held me accountable and celebrated with me. You have supported me when times are tough and encouraged me to keep on going. Life is good if you choose to make it that way. We all struggle, scratch, bite and kick in this life and frankly it would be boring to live a life without challenges. Sort of like playing football with only one team on the field. Boring!!!

I just want to tell each of you THANKS!!!! I would not be where I am or who I am without you. May God bless you and guide you to move into His purpose for your life where He will bless you even more. God is the author of life and I believe He wants to bless us. Take a few minutes during this holiday weekend and seek His will for you. He will bless you for it.

Thanks for listening,
Jerry W. Robertson

Leonid meteor shower is coming. You can check it out by clicking here.

Yeah, you’ll have to get up before the sun but it will be worth it. Spend a little time and focus on something bigger than your problems.

Live a Good Life!!
Jerry Robertson

Here are a few tech tips that can help. Check them out and remember, I am never too busy for your referrals!!

Back Up; Back Up; Back Up:

Forty-three percent of people lose irreplaceable files every year.
• Only 3 out of 100 stolen laptops are ever recovered.
• Thousands of files are lost each year to fires, floods and other disasters.
• Up to 13% of hard drives crash in their first year.

Understanding Your Medications: You need to know side effects and dosages. It is also essential to understand drug and food interactions. Check out the Physician’s Desk Reference for this valuable information. This is the guide that doctors use.The publisher has a site for laypeople. PDRhealth provides information about prescription medications. You’ll also find information on over-the-counter medications, herbals and supplements. They can also cause side effects and interactions. This site is valuable for anyone with health questions.  Of course discuss any concerns with your doctor. http://www.pdrhealth.com/home/home.aspx

Flash and External hard drives Don’t Offer Much Security: Thieves wouldn’t have much trouble viewing most of them. Encryption scrambles data using complex algorithms. A key unscrambles the data so it can be read. Password protection also uses a password to prevent access to data. But the data isn’t necessarily scrambled.   http://www.truecrypt.org/

Meal Planning Can Help With Organization: Plan your meals ahead of time will take a big bite out of time stresses during the day. Supercook can help with this along with planning healthy meals and shopping. Start by entering ingredients. The site finds a recipe that uses all or some of them. Pay attention to the “Do you have” box, too.   Supercook is a new recipe search engine that finds recipes you can make with only the ingredients you have at home. The more ingredients you add, the better the results will be  http://www.supercook.com/

Once LIFE Magazine Brought The World to our Mailboxes: Google is archiving LIFE Magazine. It first added a collection of LIFE’s photography to its Images site. Now, Google has placed the magazine on its Books site. Google Books offers every copy of LIFE between 1936 and 1972. That’s 1,800 weekly copies. Each copy is available in its entirety. You can read every story and view every photograph.There’s a contents page for each issue. It has navigation links, for easy access http://books.google.com/books?id=N0EEAAAAMBAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s#all_issues_anchor

Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson

Tech tips courtesy of Rick DeLuca http://www.RealEstateIdeaClub.com

Hmmmmmm. Did I make you look?? Sorry to tease you like that but I wanted to let you know what I see coming down the road and maybe not all that far away.

No, we don’t have a shortage now but there are places and prices where inventory has dropped very low. Lower than 6 months of inventory. Lower than 3 months of inventory. Remember that we see 6 months of inventory as a balanced market; neither buyer nor seller has much advantage at 6 months of inventory. Several areas in Gwinnett county are below 6 months of inventory and I think we are in for a shortage in about 12 to 18 months down the road.

Some would warn us of the ‘glut’ of foreclosures coming into the market or the ‘hidden’ inventory that banks are holding on to but they don’t take into account that there is almost NO new construction taking place and we are still a growing population coming into the area (remember NCR?). New construction will take about 12 – 24 months to ramp up once they see the need (there are a few builders starting now) but that will be too late to meet it.

To add to the demand of a growing population is the extension of the $8000 tax credit for 1st time buyers and the expansion to a repeat buyer in for $6500 if they are buying a new primary residence and have lived in their home 5 of the last 7 years. There are income limits but they are higher than they were so more buyers qualify. Affordability index is lower than it has ever been (down around 15% of income to buy a house) so many people are getting in the market further consuming the inventory. Now most of that reduction in inventory is taking place in the under $250,000 price range and we will have more higher priced inventory for a while but if we get things moving again then we will create more jobs, build more homes and see more growth as a result.

Not everyone agrees with me but I felt like I needed to tell you what I see happening and maybe be a carrier of hope. The American Economy is an anvil that has worn out many hammers and it will wear this one out too. It is already happening. We are on track for over 5,000,000 (that’s 5 Million) transactions in this economy. That is considered a healthy housing market. Yes the average sales price is down but it is beginning to rise. Yes there is still 10% unemployment but that is showing signs of recovery and while there are many that will say we are in for a hard time to come I don’t see it in the housing market.

If you want to talk about it call me. I re-discovered a fresh perspective on coffee. I remember now that it creates time. Time to build relationships and forge friendships. One of my friendships got stronger yesterday!! (Thanks Chris.) Anyone want to get a cup tomorrow?? I have some time.

Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson

We are experiencing the most interesting real estate market in recent history. The good news is we are seeing more and more positive data come in. Check out the charts and my take on the info below. (Click on any image for a full size one you can see.)

This one shows inventory over the last two years. It is DOWN 36% over that time. One of the big problems we have is the amount of inventory.

Home under contract during the same period has increased by 91% or almost double over its low in November of 2008. Much of that is first time home buyers getting in on the tax credit that the Feds offered to them. It is scheduled to end on 30 November but it is beginning to look like we might see an extension of that and possibly an expansion to some of the repeat buyers looking to move.

Home sold vs Under Contract is a big deal too. Lots of contracts fall out for lots of reasons. The buyer gets cold feet or finds out they don’t qualify for the loan or just change their mind. Lenders are tougher on qualifying but if you have a job and can pay back the money you borrow then you will probably get the loan you need.

I think this one is the most interesting chart in the bunch. It shows Median Sales Price of the homes sold, under contract and for sale. Since September of 2007 home prices have fallen 21% as have those under contract. Homes for sale are only 13% down. What that means is that the current market is OVER PRICED by about 8% and it is keeping some homes on the market longer than they need to be.

30 years of average home prices

Remember this chart from a few days ago?? This one shows Median Sales Price over 30 years. This reflects that 21% drop you see above AND shows you where are on the curve historically. We are about where we should be. We may be in for a little more turbulence as we see the stock of foreclosures hit the market. We may see a further decline of sales price but I don’t think so. There are more foreclosures coming but there are VERY FEW builders building anything. All the inventory that we normally see coming on line is simply not there and it will not be there for a while.

I don’t want this to get so long that you don’t have time to read it so I am going to stop for now but know that we are going to be OK and if you have specific questions or comments about the data then call me. I am here to help and I am never too busy for your referrals!!!

Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson
678-231-1578 Cell