Archive for July, 2008

What Happens When You Get a $450,000 House for Free?

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

This story from Yahoo News confirms something I’ve always wondered about. Interesting that Yahoo calls this project a “victim” of the mortgage crisis. The only thing it’s a victim of is the owners’ financial irresponsibility.

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More than 1,800 people showed up to help ABC’s “Extreme Makeover” team demolish a family’s decrepit home and replace it with a sparkling, four-bedroom mini-mansion in 2005.

Three years later, the reality TV show’s most ambitious project at the time has become the latest victim of the foreclosure crisis.

After the Harper family used the two-story home as collateral for a $450,000 loan, it’s set to go to auction on the steps of the Clayton County Courthouse Aug. 5. The couple did not return phone calls Monday, but told WSB-TV they received the loan for a construction business that failed.

The house was built in January 2005, after Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA and ABC’s “Extreme Makeover” demolished their old home and its faulty septic system. Within six days, construction crews and hoards of volunteers had completed work on the largest home that the television program had yet built.

The finished product was a four-bedroom house with decorative rock walls and a three-car garage that towered over ranch and split-level homes in their Clayton County neighborhood. The home’s door opened into a lobby that featured four fireplaces, a solarium, a music room and a plush new office.

Materials and labor were donated for the home, which would have cost about $450,000 to build. Beazer Homes’ employees and company partners also raised $250,000 in contributions for the family, including scholarships for the couple’s three children and a home maintenance fund.

ABC said in a statement that it advises each family to consult a financial planner after they get their new home. “Ultimately, financial matters are personal, and we work to respect the privacy of the families,” the network said.

Some of the volunteers who helped build the home were less than thrilled about the family’s financial decisions.

“It’s aggravating. It just makes you mad. You do that much work, and they just squander it,” Lake City Mayor Willie Oswalt, who helped vault a massive beam into place in the Harper’s living room, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Feedback on 7/29/08 Issue of Work Is Not for Sissies

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

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Are People Really This Stupid, or Did Katie Couric Get Fooled?

Monday, July 28th, 2008

CBS ran a story on the six o’clock news last Friday in which they told the story of one of the “poor, innocent victims” of the mortgage crisis in California. The woman makes $75,000 a year and took out an adjustable rate mortgage with a $3600 payment that adjusted upward to $4800. She complained that “no one could help her”.

Either Katie Couric and company got snookered big time, or this woman is the most financially illiterate homebuyer I’ve ever seen. At $75,000 a year, her monthly gross would be $6250, which means her monthly take home pay couldn’t be more than $4500. The maximum house payment Dave Ramsey recommends is 25% of take home pay, which would be just above $1100. At the high end, lenders will approve people for 40% of their take home, which would be $1800.

When her monthly mortgage payment was $3600, that would have been around 80% of her take home pay. Even if she didn’t pay a dime of taxes, it would still be nearly 58% of her monthly paycheck.

This is why you shouldn’t believe everything you see or hear in the media.

How to Beat the Grim Reaper

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

It occurred to me today how ironic – or appropriate – that Professor Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon University also died last week. If you don’t know who Dr. Pausch is, he became a celebrity this year because of a speech he gave a few months ago, as he was close to death. In it, he said “You don’t beat the Grim Reaper by living longer. You beat him by living well”. Watch this short video if you haven’t seen him.

The Funniest Last Words I Ever Heard

Saturday, July 26th, 2008

I don’t know why we feel guilt for laughing or finding levity in funny situations when mourning. After mourning the loss of my pastor yesterday, I heard a story on Paul Harvey News about a killer’s last words, and it made me laugh. Last week, Virginia executed a man that murdered one of his coworkers. When asked if he had any last words, he reportedly said, “Tell the governor he won’t be getting my vote”.

Then I remember that Dr. Olds referred to the fact that he was dying of cancer numerous times in his last sermons, and told jokes to make us laugh. Maybe he was teaching us to find the bright spots in even the darkest times. If so, I guess his teaching worked.

The Loss of a Leader

Friday, July 25th, 2008

There’s a dark cloud hanging over Nashville today. Funeral services for Dr. Howard Olds, who I have quoted numerous times, are this afternoon. When he gave his final sermon at Brentwood United Methodist Church on June 29th, we knew that retirement on that date marked the end of over 40 years in the ministry, but we did not know how closely the end of his life would follow.

Part of his obituary in The Tennessean, Nashville’s main newspaper, reads, “Under his leadership, the church has refined its vision and purpose in Christ: to love one another radically, make disciples intentionally, serve the poor compassionately, and develop leaders humbly”.

If ever a leader succeeded in his mission, it was Dr. Olds. In “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, Dr. John C. Maxwell wrote that one sign of true leaders is that they’re always grooming their successors so that their organizations will continue to thrive after their departure. While I am a huge fan of Dr. Maxwell’s and have every book he’s ever written, it certainly doesn’t feel like this church could possibly continue to thrive after the departure of such a charismatic leader. To the contrary, there’s this hollow feeling of, “How can we carry on without him?”.  I have no doubt we will, but it sure doesn’t feel that way today.

Dateline Birmingham, Alabama – Telecommuting

Thursday, July 24th, 2008

At yesterday’s seminar, the executive director of a non-profit agency told me that she now allows two of her employees to telecommute (work from home). The nature of their positions allow it, but two other employees who have to be in the office full time because of the nature of their positions are complaining and becoming resentful. The E.D. said she feels a bit guilty, but she feels what she’s doing is fair. She’s right. If telecommuting works for you as a manager, your employees, and your company, then go for it. Of course others will complain, but they chose their jobs. While telecommuting is not for everyone and certainly not possible in every position, it is a great employee retention tool that is becoming more popular than ever.

Dateline Montgomery, Alabama – “Oh Yes it Does!!!”

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

In yesterday’s seminar, we were discussing how much or how little attention managers give to how job applicants dress. I mentioned that an applicant applying for a job with an attorney in the seminar might be expected to dress well, but that it might not matter so much to the head of housekeeping for an Embassy Suites hotel in the room if housekeeping applicants were not dressed to the nines. She quickly responded, “Oh yes it does!!!” Good for her. After she said that, I noticed how well she was dressed, which shows that she leads by example.  Even more impressive.

Feedback on 7/22/08 Issue of Work Is Not for Sissies

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

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