Dream Home News Premier Edition

I am excited to have the opportunity once a month to share with you some of the most important and relevant information on one of our most cherished possessions, Our Homes.  Whether you currently live in your dream home, would like to begin planning for and building your custom home, or have plans 5, 10, 15, or more years in the future to build your family dream residence, this monthly newsletter will be a great value.

I have taken the liberty of adding to this "Premier Edition" subscriber list a number of people I know and respect.  However, if for any reason you would like to unsubscribe, please feel free to do so, I will not be offended.  I understand the in-flow of information we receive on a daily basis through email.  I guarantee you will enjoy each months edition, and will find it very relevant.

Heres to the future of the "American Dream,"  it is alive and well.

~ Jeffrey Crane ~

The Dream Home Coach's Corner

As far back as I can remember I have loved looking at and walking through new homes, especially the unique one-of-a-kind custom type. Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to manage the construction of over $15,000,000 worth of luxury custom homes. Throughout the construction of these very unique homes, I have had the chance to enjoy the quiet of the vacant jobsite after the subcontractors have packed up and left for the day. During these quiet moments of reflection, I have thought about the resources and planning required to make each of these homes literally rise from the dust. The years of planning and dreaming by the owners, the financial investment by all parties involved, and most importantly, the willingness to risk ones vision and move forward with such a daunting task.

Each luxury home encapsulates many tens of thousands of individual custom parts which make up the unique structure. It is amazing to think, that from the mind of an owner emerges the physical creation of a lifelong dream. We hear a fair share of negative financial news on a daily basis. It may be true that the worldwide financial system is experiencing some challenges. The masses may be in a panic, but from my vantage point, the American dream is still alive and well. It is a matter of perception. I have written about this in an article listed along the left-hand column of this newsletter under the heading “Did You Know” which I posted recently to my blog. I invite you to read and share it with anyone who may be stuck in a fearful cycle of dreary daily information overload.

Dreams remain simply, thoughts, unless some form of action is attached to them. I invite you to get outrageous with your dreams, whether they involve a custom home, or not. It is my belief that, the dream not acted upon becomes a burden. Most dreams are not acted upon because of fear. Fear is often a result of no plan. No plan is a result of lack of understanding of the process to achieve the dream. Take Action!

Be Outrageous.

(My good friend Steve Chandler has started a worldwide Mastermind Group called Club Fearless, check it out here)

The Financial Corner: By Kurt Fisher

We continue to ask the question…why aren’t rates lower?

Typically, rates are affected by employment, sales, inflation, growth of the economy, and other lesser variables that have a direct or indirect impact on these 4 indicators mentioned. Even though rates were at 40 to 50 year lows the middle of December and the beginning of January, it only lasted a few weeks. There are 2 basic reasons for rates not being lower and rising for the past 3 or 4 weeks.

First, investors are still hesitant to buy mortgage backed securities; the foreclosure rate has not slowed down, and investors won’t take the risk without higher yields, hence driving or keeping rates up. Second, with the government bail-out there is an oversupply of bonds in the market...it’s the old supply and demand story. The government has to raise money to bail out the banks. They do that in the form of bonds, the greater the supply of bonds, the lower the demand for bonds. Consequently, the government raises the yield (interest rate) on the bond to increase demand, which in turn increases our interest rates. Hence, too much supply is increasing the rates.

The Good news is rates are still in the mid to low 5’s and if you want to pay points you can get a lower rate.

Kurt R. Fisher
KRF Financial LLC
Lic # MB-0906281
480-830-5862