Heath's Blog

My Dad was a pilot yeas ago. He still likes to fly, but is only able to as a passenger these days. He sent me these humorous bits of communication. I had a few good laughs and thought you might like a few, too.

Tower: "Delta  351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6  miles!"
Delta 351: "Give  us another hint! We have digital watches!"
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Tower: "TWA  2341, for noise abatement turn right 45  Degrees."
TWA  2341: "Center,  we are at 35,000 feet.. How much noise can we make up  here?"
Tower: "Sir,  have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it  hits a 727?"
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From  an unknown aircraft waiting in a very long takeoff  queue: "I'm  f...ing bored!"
Ground  Traffic Control: "Last  aircraft transmitting, identify yourself  immediately!"
Unknown  aircraft: "I  said I was f....ing bored, not f...ing  stupid!"
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O'Hare  Approach Control to a 747: "United  329 heavy, your traffic is a Fokker, one o'clock,  three miles,  Eastbound."
United  329: "Approach,  I've always wanted to say this...I've got the little Fokker in sight."
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A  student became lost during a solo cross-country  flight. While attempting to locate the aircraft on  radar, ATC asked, "What  was your last known  position?"
Student: "When  I was number one for takeoff."
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A  DC-10 had come in a little hot and thus had an  exceedingly long roll out after touching down.
San  Jose Tower Noted: "American  751, make a hard right turn at the end of the  runway, if you are able.. If you are not able, take  the Guadalupe exit off Highway 101, make a right at  the lights and return to the  airport."
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A  Pan Am 727 flight, waiting for start clearance in   Munich , overheard the following:
Lufthansa (in  German): "Ground,  what is our start clearance  time?"
Ground  (in English): "If  you want an answer you must speak in  English."
Lufthansa  (in English): "I  am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany .  Why must I speak  English?"
Unknown  voice from another plane (in a beautiful British  accent): "Because  you lost the bloody  war!"
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Tower: "Eastern  702, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on  frequency 124.7"
Eastern  702: "Tower,  Eastern 702 switching to Departure. By the way,after  we lifted off we saw some kind of dead animal on the  far end of the  runway."
Tower:  "Continental  635, cleared for takeoff behind Eastern 702, contact  Departure on frequency 124.7. Did you copy that  report from Eastern  702?"
Continental  635: "Continental  635, cleared for takeoff, roger; and yes, we copied Eastern. We've already notified our caterers."
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One  day the pilot of a Cherokee 180 was told by the  tower to hold short of the active runway while a  DC-8 landed. The DC-8 landed, rolled out, turned  around, and taxied back past the Cherokee. Some  quick-witted comedian in the DC-8 crew got on the  radio and said, "What  a cute little plane. Did you make it all by  yourself?"
The  Cherokee pilot, not about to let the insult go by,  came back with a real zinger: "I  made it out of DC-8 parts. Another landing like  yours and I'll have enough parts for another  one."
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The  German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are  renowned as a short-tempered lot. They not only  expect one to know one's gate parking location, but  how to get there without any assistance from them.  So it was with some amusement that we (a Pan Am 747)  listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt  ground control and a British Airways 747, call sign  Speedbird 206.
Speedbird  206: "   Frankfurt , Speedbird 206! Clear of active  runway."
Ground: "Speedbird  206. Taxi to gate Alpha  One-Seven."
The  BA 747 pulled onto the main taxiway and slowed to a  stop.
Ground: "Speedbird,  do you not know where you are  going?"
Speedbird  206: "Stand  by, Ground, I'm looking up our gate location  now."
Ground  (with quite arrogant  impatience): "Speedbird  206, have you not been to Frankfurt  before?"
Speedbird  206 (coolly): "Yes,  twice in 1944, but it was dark --  and  I didn't  land."
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While  taxiing at London 's Airport,  the crew of a US Air flight departing for Ft.  Lauderdale made a wrong turn and came nose to nose  with a United 727..
An  irate female ground controller lashed out at the US  Air crew, screaming: "US  Air 2771, where the hell are you going? I told you  to turn right onto Charlie taxiway! You turned right  on Delta! Stop right there. I know it's difficult  for you to tell the difference between C and D, but  get it right!"
Continuing  her rage to the embarrassed crew, she was now  shouting hysterically: "God!  Now you've screwed everything up! It'll take forever  to sort this out! You stay right there and don't  move till I tell you to! You can expect progressive  taxi instructions in about half an hour, and I want  you to go exactly where I tell you, when I tell you,  and how I tell you! You got that, US Air  2771?"
"Yes, ma'am,"  the  humbled crew responded.
Naturally,  the ground control communications frequency fell  terribly silent after the verbal bashing of US Air  2771. Nobody wanted to chance engaging the irate  ground controller in her current state of mind.  Tension in every cockpit out around Gatwick was  definitely running high. Just then an unknown pilot  broke the silence and keyed his microphone,  asking:
"Wasn't  I married to you  once?"

It seems that the HUD Secretary has tried to make it easier to buy a foreclosure. Shaun Donovan has initiated a policy that will last 1 year (from Feb 1). It will allows buyers to use FHA financing to buy HUD owned property, foreclosures, or private resales.

There are some conditions that have to be met, like it has to be an "arms length" transaction. Another is that if the sale price of a property is 20% or more above the seller's acquisition costs, the lender has to meet some specific conditions. And one more is that reverse mortgages are excluded.

Of course when the Fed stops buying FHA loans in March (as some are saying now), Interest rates will still rise making it harder for some to buy, and decreasing the size of a house that others can afford. So, buy now and avoid the rush.

On Cape Cod, in the month of January, the median sale price of a single family home was up over $62K! Last year the median price was just over $297K. This year it is at $360K.

The median sale price for a condo was also higher. The $192K mark in '09 increased to $242K last month. That is an increase of $50K.

There were 18 more sales in January of this year than there were last year. The total volume for all sales increased by almost seven million dollars on Cape Cod. 

With many indicators pointing toward higher interest rates, now is probably a good time to buy real estate on Cape Cod.

Unfortunately the web site of Scott Brown, Senator, hasn't been updated, but there are numerous reports about his Thank You tour. The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Herald, and other news outlets are reporting that the new Massachusetts Senator will be visiting a few places in the state to thank voters and to keep listening.

Of course I am most happy to write that my town of Falmouth is one of the stops on this thank me/you tour. I have printed a small sign in brown ink that says "Independent Voter". I also stuck the sticker that I got after I voted that says, "I voted" on the sign.

I plan to take my video camera and my sign and participate. I think it is time for voters to get more from our representatives. Maybe the election of Mr. Brown has opened the door of a new hope for unheard voters. I am looking forward to the event tonight. There is a buzz here in town.

The other towns he plans to visit are Chicopee, Saugus, Dracut, Worcester, and Foxboro.

You can follow him on twitter @ScottBrownMA , or on Facebook . (I think every representative should be so findable and communicative.)

The new Senator from MA is going to be in Falmouth tomorrow. Word on the radio this morning is that he's going to be here at 7 pm. The Falmouth Inn is hosting the event.

Since this seems to be the only place on Cape Cod that he will be visiting, there will probably be lots of people here. I made a sign in brown text that says "Independent Voter." Hopefully the understanding is that it wasn't a party that won or lost the election as much as it was voters trying to be heard.

This should be a busy event here. If you need to map the Falmouth Inn, the address is 824 Main Street (Rte 28), Falmouth, MA 02540.

One more reason to use a real estate professional when looking at property - is that multi-family approved or not?

I just read a case in Illinois where sellers had been delayed from closing on their homes because the city had not inspected the homes for code violations. Yep, there is a new local law in that town that says the town inspector has to pass on the property before it can close. I understand the idea, but the application seems arbitrary.

This local ordinance applies to current sales. That means that if you own a property, you can't sell it unless you resolve all the code issues that may have been there, unidentified, when you bought it.  It seems by the case papers that there may have been a goal of causing un-permitted multi-family dwellings to stop operating. 

In any event, the idea that town government will now make current owners responsible for past, tolerated or overlooked code issues, will be a problem for many owners. I could see enforcing new construction or renovation projects to come into compliance, but policing retroactively based on a sale appears to be pretty far reaching.

One more reason to use a real estate professional when looking at property - is that multi-family approved or not?

Here's a link to the case: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/091681p.pdf

Companies and businesses have been watching for the predictors that will help them make economic decisions. They will now watch for both the reactions of Congressmen and for the reaction of people in other states. When Congressmen start voting on their own, companies and businesses will gain confidence in the predictors.

When people begin to vote on the Candidate and not the party, companies and businesses will gain confidence in the predictors. When companies and businesses gain confidence in the predictors, they make buying decisions. When financial planners can foresee future tax structures and expenses, they advise in favor of buying decisions. When companies and businesses gain confidence in the predictors, they hire workers.

When there is confidence in the economy, real estate will stabilize and grow again. Those who have been waiting to spend their cash, will begin to invest in all things - including real estate.  Now is the time to buy!

Well, it looks like the political machine that controls MA has its hands full. For the first hour of local talk radio on Cape Cod, there was nothing but calls from Scott Brown supporters reporting their vote and the status of the polls in their towns. Neither of the other candidates had one caller.

It appears that the only hope for the MA machine is to somehow slow the counting or hope they were able to acquire enough absentee ballots to affect the outcome. It wouldn't surprise anyone here if there was some shenanigans with the count. Chicago isn't the only place with election issues.

It is still early in the morning, but the word on the radio is only 5 letters. For the second time in US history, MA may be leading a revolution.

I saw a new listing today that is not waterfront, but the agent made the first picture a picture of a beach!? This is frustrating to me. I work very had to present our company listings with WYSIWYGpictures. WYSIWYG means What You See Is What You Get. It is pronounced wiz-ee-wig.

It seems to me that there are no "rules" for adding pictures to a listing. I consider this a form of bait and switch advertising. When I am showing listings to customers, I often have to say, "That property doesn't have A view - let alone That view." This often causes a look of dismay and sometimes the question, "Why would they put that picture in the listing then?"

False pictures in listings are contributing to the distrust that consumers have of real estate professionals. I have some customers who drove over an hour to look at multiple properties that had waterviews in the listing pictures. I cautioned them that the pictures were not true to life, but that we would have a better idea of waterview areas when they came to look. They came to town.

We looked, they were astonished, and now when I describe a new listing, I say, "The 'view' there is like the one at house X." They are also learning which agents and/or companies litter their listings with misleading pictures. 

From the business owners perspective I know why they add the false pictures to their listings - to make the phone ring.  But, I think that creating a false online impression of a property hurts the trust that we work so hard to win from consumers. It seems to me that some bait and switch law would be able to end this kind of practice, even if the integrity of the business itself can't. And I really dislike the idea of more regulation. Why can't professionals be professional without more regulation?

When economists try to predict the future, one of the variables they can be confident in is that Congress won't do anything. This variable is only available when there is no one group in control of decisions. If Scott Brown is elected in MA, it could be good for the whole US economy.

It isn't his pledge to vote against proposed health fixes that might change things. Instead, it is the fact tha MA will have elected a Republican to fill Ted Kennedy's seat in Congress. If MA can express that much discontent with Democrats, then other congressmen will look more closely at their own "job security". The reality of voters choosing to replace them could change votes on many things.

Of course changes late in a congressman's voting history may not be enough to save their position, but many may open their eyes. And for those who are replaced, the stronghold by one group will have been broken, and the variable that economists like to see will be in place. If they all have to try to get along, they probably will get little done. This makes predicting how their new policies and laws will affect the economy, much easier. When companies can forecast with confidence, they can make decisions.

Maybe Scott Brown Elected is a good headline for the US economy.