Michael T. Burns

BULL!!!!  I am so sick of this that it drives me crazy!  Everyone agrees that the government must do something to save us from this terrible “liquidity crisis”.  I don’t normally comment on politics, but I will now.

This is a shameful destruction of our freedom.  There is no other way to say it.  The money will come from us, there is no free lunch, the piper must be paid, etc.  Yet we stand by and allow these mortals to scare and bribe each other into placing you and I in indentured servitude.  It’s called debt.

This is absolutely ridiculous!  The bailout is no different than an individual who can no longer get loans because everything is maxed out, and then turns to friends and family for an “emergency” loan because they can no longer make their payments.  Of course, no one states that they need a loan because they cannot make their payments.  What your friend or family says is that their great investments are just a little bit away from paying off and if we just help them out right now everything will be okay.  The difference here is that our good relative, Uncle Sam, is not only going to make his payments but is also taking a great vacation to the Bahamas for three weeks on this loan.

I have personally had enough, I do not know what more I can do as an individual. I have called my senator, I have called my representative, I talked to my friends, and I have prayed. I fear that this will successfully prolong the pain, and character building that we have put off as a country for not only years but generations. The time has come for us to step up as individuals, and collectively as a country, to do something more than feed our gluttonous appetites and our insatiable desires for the next shiny token that draws our attention.

I won’t make any threats, I won’t call for heads to roll, I won’t because that freedom has already been taken away. I feel that the only option left is to join the same political class that is causing these problems. The challenge I face personally has many facets. Will I have the character to not become what they have become? Will I have the courage to speak my mind? Am I willing to risk my life, my family, my fortune?  I don’t know if I am strong enough yet, and that bothers me.

This is posted in haste, and you might say in anger.  Maybe I’ll figure it out.

We all have our vices, it is probably important to admit what mine is:  I have sympathy for machines.  I know that sounds weird, but my wife will confirm that I have a tendancy to feel bad when machines are abused or neglected.  This has lately manifest itself in the acquisition of a sad motorcyle.  It actually looked pretty good, but was not running so I was forced to buy it.  Cheap motorcycles are hard to come by so I bought it before checking with Ellen.  She once again did not freak out which is awfully impressive.

I have figured out that I have no intention of trying to get better.  I really do enjoy fixing things. I think I enjoy the contrast that working on machines affords to what I do on a daily basis. I love helping people with real estate problems but there’s something so tangible and definable about a machine that I find hard to resist.  Unfortunately, riding a motorcycle is a lot easier than fixing a motorcycle and so once again I have three sold the motorcycle once it was back to perfect running condition.

I have decided to monitor the number of conscious decisions required of me in a day.  Just to get my desk cleared off enough to start working required 32 decisions.  If I had gotten hung up on any one of them, I would still not be ready to work.

Going through email required countless decisions, but for a single message the following are required:  Open or delete, if open read or skim, take action or not, once read delete or file.  The biggest question is how many emails we read provide a chance for action?  If they do not require an action of some sort they provided only information.  Are we better for that info or not?

What is the solution to a busy day, that leaves you wiped out and many tasks incomplete?  I think that planning in advance helps, but there must be a key that I am missing.  Suggestions?

I am certain that any decision is better than no decision.  I know this is a generalization and that many terrible decisions are made daily, as evidenced by our friends at the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board.  Truly, most problems are caused not by a bad decision, but a lack of any decision at all.  Consider the following situations where we can all agree that indecision is most commonly the cause of the problems.  

Auto accidents, clutter, landscaping, investments, time management, purchases (and especially returns), overflowing closets and TOO MUCH STUFF!!  I will tackle each of these separately over the next few days, but for today a short story that triggered these thoughts may suffice. 

My next door neighbor is an amazing man.  He could be the poster child for decisiveness, and success for that matter, but on Saturday he dropped by while I was working in the garage and gave me a brand new lawn mower blade.  We don’t normally exchange gifts (unless you count the weed seeds that blow from my yard into his) and I was confused.  He explained that he had purchased it a year ago so he could not return it, and it did not fit his mower.  He spent good money on it and couldn’t throw it away, so he gave it to me.  I don’t think it will fit my mower, but he decided to get rid of it and I was close, so I now have the duty of finding a home for it.  He is very good at making decisions, that is why my garage is a mess and his is pristine.

I am going to try to follow his example more often.

I saw some photos of myself today.  I really don’t have much hair.  I have always just felt that it was best to not care and lose it gracefully, but was still surprised by the unexpected angle!  I wonder how many other things in my life are not as I think?  There should be some forum for telling others the truth about themselves.  The closest thing I have ever seen is the website “hotornot” but that doesn’t address anything of value.  I suppose a mentor would be the person with this job in a business setting, but how do you find such a person in your personal life?  A spouse doesn’t want to tell you what to change, a child might but only experiences flashes of insight, and a parent is a bit too biased.

I would like to find someone who would tell me things like, “you don’t have much hair” on a regular basis.  They could rank the importance of making a change in their opinion, then I could decide if I cared to fix it or not. 

The question was posed, what is a “Twin Home”?  I have decieded to take this chance to define the common types of homes in Utah.

“Single Family Home” - This is the traditional freestanding house.  It often includes a one or more car garage.

“Twin Home” - This is the same as a single family home, but features a “Zero lot line” meaning that the wall the houses share IS the lot line.  This results in two homes attached to one another even though each has a seperate yard.  You will often see a fence in the back yard that comes right to the middle of the building.

“Mobile Home” - Also known as the “Manufactured” home.  This is completely built offsite and trucked to the lot.  It may have more than one peice, which are joined on the lot.  Most of these are located in “mobile home parks” where you own the unit, but rent the lot.  There are some on their own property, but cities have become much more restrictive about allowing these

“Town Home” - This is actually a style of home.  Usually two stories, attached to the neighboring homes.  This looks like a “Row house” in other parts of the country.  These properties are either set up as a PUD or a condo.

“Condo” - If referencing the style of home often means a multi-story building where each unit is a portion of one level.  More importantly this is a type of ownership.

“Condo” - This is a form of ownership in which the owner of a unit officially owns from the paint on the walls and ceiling inward.  In reality you own the airspace of your unit exclusively, and have an undivided ownership with all the other members of the condo association.

“PUD” - This form of ownership results each owner of each unit owning their structure as well as the ground it sits on, or possibly a slightly larger piece than the actual structure.  Sometimes these developments have an association and share many practical similarities with condos.  The difference is in the way the property needs to be insured.

I hope this helps

This is an excerpt of an email response that I sent to a good man who just can’t find his home, and may not actually want to find it.

You cannot chase a feeling.  They do not bear being chased.  A goal should be pursued, but the serendipity of a feeling associated with that goal cannot be forced, and the hoped for emotions may not necessarily coincide once the goal is achieved. 

I would agree that God’s will plays a huge factor in home purchases and sales.  I have seen homes sell that have no business selling and homes that are killer deals NOT sell because it was not the right time for the sellers.  I do have several interesting stories, but I will try to avoid being so presumptuous as to assume that I know all the reasons.

You should know that it is perfectly natural for criteria to change throughout a search.  That is not a problem it is part of the process.  I have helped many clients decide not to buy at a certain time– that is just part of the business.  Progress is made by making a series of decisions and commitments in finding a property, just like it is in life.  My job is to help people reach those decisions with their lives intact.

As to the actions of agents, I would agree with you that many merit a huge “No confidence” vote.  Unfortunately my business is littered with people who should not be trusted with your confidence.  You have dealt with many.  You get the automated searches which are easy to set up and go on forever if you don’t stop them.  There is a high likelihood that the agents that send those have forgotten about you.  On the other hand, there are the persistent souls who follow-up even when told to go away.  I like to think I am different, but am certain that at times I fallen into both camps.

A few facts about real estate agents

When everything is considered you, and any qualified and motivated buyer, should interview several agents, select one, and be faithful to that agent as long as they are faithful to you.  A good agent will suffer through the process with you.  They will not dedicate every waking hour to you, because that is impossible, but if they know that you will use them when a purchase is made they will consistently seek out properties for your evaluation and prepare you in every way to make a good decision.  When that property is located, they will negotiate the best possible price, help you evaluate the condition of the property, determine the manner in which repairs should be completed, negotiate the repairs or compensation, direct you to other competent professionals, and guide you through the minefields of the transaction with as little injury (both psychic and financial) as possible.

An agent only gets paid when a transaction closes.  As a result, the buyers who have selected an exclusive agent get first priority.  Finding new buyers who are likely to sign an exclusive agreement become the next priority.  Finally the buyers who are qualified and motivated, but will not sign an agreement may get an occasional call.  The reason these buyers are the last priority is because they are not committed to you, and their intention often is to go around the agent and attempt to cut the agent out of any deal they make.  I have even had this occur with close family members!  The other challenge is that as an agent you are creating what is referred to as “Implied Agency” which has been vigorously objected to by the state and is considered by many to be an illegitimate, if not illegal, method of operating as a real estate agent.

No agent can consistently find properties for you on the basis of being “used” if they are the first agent to bring you the opportunity.  As an agent you are basically playing a dangerous lottery game with your family’s finances if you allocate time to these buyers.

–
Sincerely,
Mike Burns
m.  801-836-6683
F.  801-406-0170

The basics

This is a nice twin home (meaning it shares a common wall with one other unit) with 4 bedrooms 1.5 baths and several updates.  It features new paint, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, and central air.

The Anti-Fluff 

This is a perfect home for the person who doesn’t demand a lot of bathrooms!  The second floor has 4 bedrooms and a single bath, the half bath is on the main floor.  If it had a master bath it would be priced close to $200,000, but since it onlyhas a single bathroom to serve the bedrooms it is a BARGAIN at $149,900.  This is the best priced property I have seen anywhere in the last year.

For the Practical minded

This home is located within walking distance to all the schools and a very cool new community recreation center.  How do you beat a low payment!

For the Soul

Payson is a small town where you can take a walk to meet the neighbor’s horse if you want to.  There is still a “Salt of the earth” feel to the people there, and I know a family around the corner that you can’t help but love.  I imagine it is not too difficult to find a road where you can test out just how fast your motorcycle will go…though I would never advocate speeding.

Why you’re crazy NOT to buy this house

The Payson Salmon festival is not to be missed…and though there are some interlopers, it just tastes better if you are a property owner.

When you just don’t feel right you need to decide if this is a “push-through” moment or a rest and recover moment.  The repercussions of making an incorrect decision in this case can be extreme.  Many times in my life I have “pushed through” pain and found serious injury on the other side.  I am now trying to avoid such problems and learn to listen when my body is complaining. 

I recently developed a pain on the top of my left foot.  I don’t know what caused it, but it hurt and it showed up as a bruise.  GRAPHIC PHOTO BELOW!  SCROLL FAST IF YOUR STOMACH IS WEAK!

Foot Bruise

OK it is really just a link, I wanted to keep this family friendly.  Yes, I do have a couple of webbed toes but that is a subject for another day.

What I love about triathlon training is that biking and swimming didn’t bother me so I could flex my training and keep right on going!  I just biked and swam for a week or so and it felt better.  I really don’t know what the problem was, and I don’t care too much because my goals are still intact and I feel better now.

I am hoping to apply this principle in every area of my life.  Maybe if I focus on my goals more and relax about how to acheive them, I can hit them with more regularity.  I hope you can too.