Posted by The Keen Team on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 11:56:13 PMBy The Keen Team / January 6, 2009Comment
A recommendation to anyone who cares about the future of our troubled economy: take 30 minutes today and watch the video below. It's a shocking wake-up call that snapped into sharp focus the brutal world that my 3 year old daughter will inherit. And it explains - with amazing clairty - the national debt, the foreign trade deficit, the decrease in personal savings and the weakness of leadership in our country - past and present politicians included.
I.O.U.S.A
"By the time today's college grauduates retire, 40 years from now, the only the thing our government will be able to pay for: interest on the federal debt and "some" social security, medicaid and medicare benefits. All other parts of the federal government will be closed and out of business."
Posted by The Keen Team on Friday, January 2, 2009 at 6:00:52 PMBy The Keen Team / January 2, 2009Comment
I just finished reading a book called "Predictably Irrational", by Don Ariely. In it, the insightful Duke Univerysity professor unveils the hidden, irrational forces that shape our daily decision making. It's a great read
There are a few interesting case studies in this book that can be
applied to real estate marketing and negotiations. Specifically, Chapter Seven (The High Price of Ownership) covers what is commonly referred to as "The "endowment effect". Simply put, "the endowment effect" means that when we own something, we begin to value it more than other people do.
The High Price of Real Estate Ownership
There are three fundamental "quirks" of human nature as it applies to real estate:
We fall in love with what we already have. Meaning, as sellers, we always place a higher value on our house than our potential buyer...