California

In the “old” real estate market, we would get many inquiries about real estate prices from people considering a job change or transfer into our area, or into the state of California. They wanted to know how much it would cost them to buy or rent a home. Out-of-state people were usually shocked at California prices. Move to California and pay more money for less house. Sometimes pay a lot more money for a lot less house. Many people did not make the move based on the high cost of real estate. Therefore, they did not take the new job offer.

In the “new” real estate market, we are getting many calls from people wanting us to estimate the value of their California property as part of the consideration of a job change or transfer. Now people are not making the move because they are limited by the lower value of their home in today’s real estate market. They cannot afford to sell their home and, perhaps, take a loss on their investment. Therefore, they are not taking the new job offer.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? In either market, real estate is a major factor in the job change decision. And, in either real estate market, it can be the deciding factor.Labels: home value influences jobs, job transfer, new job, real estate

I used to think that a $40 per month finance charge was a reasonable cost for the credit card companies allowing me to carry a balance of greater than $3000 dollars. How naïve I was! In the last two years I’ve turned my finances and my attitudes towards money around dramatically.

Two years ago, I had more than $4500 in credit card debt, two auto loans, and a snowmobile loan.