Most of the people reading this almost certainly don’t recall seeing Joe Friday telling witnesses that all he wanted was the facts of whatever particular crime he was investigating that week.  (So tame by today’s TV ‘standards’!)  But that is what most of us would really like right now…the facts, plain and simple.  Suggestion:  Don’t hold your breath waiting for plain and simple facts.  First, they probably don’t exist; so many variables and regional intricacies that it can’t be possible to make facts plain and simple.  Second, I am reminded of some funny guy saying something like “the fact is that my opinion is all that counts”.   

 

Here are some recent ‘facts’ that you may want to take into account.  The average price of housing nationally was recently reported to be down almost 20% in January 2009 vs. the same time period in 2008, and some see this as a sign the bottom has been seen.  The stock markets have reached their highest point in nearly three months and have sustained positive trend lines for almost the entire month of March.  Mortgage interest rates have continued downward to what may be the lowest average rate over any period of time since people dressed well to travel by train!   So is it fact or is it opinion that this is a great time to buy a house?  Only you can decide in the context of your situation…but don’t forget the fact that, if you are a first time buyer, you have less than eight months to collect your tax credit of up to $8,000.

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Have you gotten the sense lately that you should hold back? Not buy anything of significance? That somehow it is your ‘duty’ to deny yourself and to suffer with ‘everybody’ else? Nonsense! If you want to take advantage of the great opportunities in housing, for example, tell yourself (because you aren’t going to hear it from the media or from your government) that YOU DESERVE IT! Sure there are people out of work, but more than 90% are still working and producing. And if you are worried about the people out of work, the best way to help create new jobs for them is to do things that put them to work. So go ahead…buy a new house; there are some really great buys and some unbelievably low interest rates, and don’t forget the $8,000 tax credit if you qualify as a first time buyer! You deserve it!

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One day last week, I was listening to a particular talk-radio program when I heard a woman from somewhere in the mid-west say that she and her husband were in the process of buying a new home.  The show host, feigning disbelief, said something to the effect that she must be crazy; in the face of all of this doom and gloom, and amidst all of the warnings from our ‘leaders’ in government, surely she could not be taking such an enormous risk!  The lady explained that she and her husband had been very prudent with their money, that they had built an excellent credit history, that they owned their cars and had little debt except some student loans which they were rapidly paying off, and that they were certain that they were well-prepared to take advantage of the low interest rates and the market conditions.  “Why not buy a house now?” she asked.  Either she or the radio host then suggested that this couple had simply decided not to participate in the recession.

 

Believing as I do that so much of what troubles us is a matter of attitude (seriously, don’t you sense that too many people want you to believe that the sky is falling and that only ‘they’ can save us?) I think that the best advice is to trust your own instincts.  And then, as if to accentuate the point about attitudes, someone sent me an email quoting a sign that was posted in front of a church:  “Fear is the dark room where negatives are developed”.  Don’t be afraid to refuse to participate in the recession!

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