I'm wondering how the latest financial news from Wall Street is going to affect all of us in the long run.  I wonder if my kids will be able to get loans for new homes or will it now take an act of congress to be that first time home buyer. 

Obviously the financial institutions made some very bad decisions which is going to affect us all.  We saw this coming  especially being in the accounting business and knew it was only a matter of time.  I remember my husband speaking to our friend and business associate who owns three Real Estate Companies.  The day was coming he told him.  I remember we had discussions with our friend about being ready for the upcoming rainy day by paying off all his debt and to put money aside for this very rainy day ahead.  He agreed and thankfully had all his ducks lined up and taken care of before this latest recession.  But even so, he's had a very tough winter in New England.  Virtually nothing sold.  Everyone is waiting.  Waiting for a good deal.  Waiting for those foreclosures.  Just waiting period.  It's like everything stopped especially up North in the RE business. 

We have another client who was consistently losing money the last few years after enjoying a booming  business years before that. He had a three million dollar business and the banks kept giving him huge loans thinking he'd eventually turn it around and pay them back.  Doesn't look like that's going to happen.  He's falling deeper and deeper into the hole and now the banks want their money. 

Well what did they expect?  The banks read his Financial Statements and saw the negative numbers but yet continued to pass the money out as if it grew on trees.  Well that tree is now shook clean and things look pretty bleak. The branches are starting to wither and fall off.  I wish I could plant a money tree in my backyard like I'm going to plant that flat of flowers I bought this morning. 

My house in Maine is still sitting there unsold.  We've lowered the price more than $80K since last September and at the new price it would have been considered a steal two years ago.  Actually two-three years ago we could have sold it for about 100K more than our current asking price.  We talked about it.  Now we chalk it up to 20/20 hindsight.  Gah!  Should have followed that little voice in my head back then but were so unsure about where we would move.   It's a beautiful Maine Cape on acres of wooded land with a view of the White Mountains.   

Thankfully yesterday we had a showing and they loved it!  That's the good news.  The bad news is they have a home in Rhode Island they need to sell.

And so it goes.......