Child Prodigy Artist Is 8 Years Old!

Have you read all about the 8 year old artist in Holt, England whose works are selling all over the globe? In an interview reprinted on Yahoo.com the artist, young Kieron Williamson, was asked if he had any advice for all of his followers. His response was something we all could embrace, "Never give up. Try and keep your buildings straight. Don't do a plain blue sky." These were the words of wisdom from young Kieron. To read, view a video, and see more about this intriguing young man, who has been dubbed the next Picasso, visit and enjoy his website:

http://www.kieronwilliamson.com

If you want to chat with me about this phenom, just let me know http://GoRussellRealtor.com

I'm inspired, dazzled, and amazed by this young, accomplished artist and his words of wisdom speak to me..."Never give up. Try and keep your buildings straight. Don't do a plain blue sky." I think for today I'm absolutely NOT GOING TO DO A PLAIN BLUE SKY!

Housing Market Worse Than You Think

Just when you think, hope things are improving based upon some moderately cheerful news report....well, click on this link if you want to find out more about what's going on, and where we are in the whole process of recovery.

http://www.dsnews.com/articles/us-housing-market-is-in-worse-shape-than-you-think-altos-research-2010-07-30

As ever, if you want to check in with a full-time career professional Realtor, please just email me at russellgroup1@yahoo.com, or call me at 630-513-3810.

Tree House Made Of Glass In The Forest!

Did you read about the tree house in Sweden built out of glass? If you're interested in "Living Green" and seeing an amazing structure built out of glass, as well as maybe finding your next totally amazing vacation spot, check it out:

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/guest_bloggers/56/almost-invisible-mirrored-tree-house-built-in-sweden.html

For more details on real estate plus links for all sorts of helpful things visit me at
http://GoRussellRealtor.com

Need A Diversion?

This is really intriguing! If you like dolphins and are interested in seeing them do something new, click the link. It's worth it. http://wimp.com/dolphinbubbles/

JP Chase Morgan Posts Profit for Q2!

This, just in today's business news, may be of interest. If JP Chase Morgan is posting a profit I can't wait to hear what Bank of America and the other "big guys" report today. Here's the link to the article.


http://www.dsnews.com/articles/jpmorgan-chase-posts-48-billion-profit-for-q2-2010-07-15


If you want to talk about it, or see how this may impact you and what's going on in your life right now, feel free to give me a call, or email me at russellgroup1@yahoo.com, or if you just want to check out my website and see what's going on there, visit
http://GoRussellRealtor.com

Short Sales Gone Wild!

We've been really busy working the Short Sale market. Crazy! Today I just got an offer in on another property that is going the Short Sale route. Luckily, I have an experienced short sale negotiating team in place which makes the whole process efficient and as smooth as possible. We have a high success rate. You may ask, though, "What is a short sale?"

In the past when people have purchased a home, especially say between 2005 and 2007, they paid a price according to the market at that time. That buyer may also have taken advantage of getting a 100% financed loan, which many lenders were offering. The thought behind that was that since property values kept going up, a buyer could purchase a property, hold it for a few years, then sell it and realize a profit, pay off that 100% loan and still be ok, ready to move on to the next purchase. Well, then property values dropped. A lot. Then, as the economy eroded and people lost jobs, or lost income, or perhaps health issues came up...any number of hardships which caused those homeowners to be unable to keep up with their mortgage payments, another issue came up and that was how to get out from under the mortgage they could no longer afford. Welcome to the world of short sales.

If a homeowner truly can prove a hardship and the value of their home has dropped beneath what they owe for it, and they are falling behind on their payments, before the homeowner loses the house to foreclosure we, in real estate, can try and help them qualify for a short sale, market the home, get that homeowner out from under that heavy burden. Many people who have had to go the short sale route had previously tried to get a loan modification done but were unsuccessful for a variety of reasons. A short sale on your record is not as damaging as a foreclosure or a bankruptcy. We can help the homeowner determine if they might qualify to do a short sale.

Where did the phrase short sale come from? If the property is selling for less than is owed to the bank, and the bank agrees to let that happen, then the bank is selling themselves short....or it is a SHORT SALE.

Credit Scores Sink To New Lows

There have been numerous articles written on the subject of the dramatic drop in Americans' credit scores lately. One of them appeared today on Yahoo Finance. If you are interested in reading the Yahoo article in full, provided by the Associated Press, go to:

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/110051/more-americans-credit-scores-sink-to-new-lows?mod=oneclick