What's the Biggest Return On Remodeling?

Answer: Outside remodeling

Homeowners looking for the most return on their investment when remodeling should consider exterior replacement projects. According to the 2013 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report, Realtors® rated exterior projects among the most valuable home improvement projects.

“Realtors know that curb appeal projects offer great bang for your buck, because a home’s exterior is the first thing potential buyers see,” says National Association of Realtors (NAR) President Gary Thomas. “Projects such as siding, window and door replacements can recoup more than 70 percent of their cost at resale.”

According to the Cost vs. Value Report, Realtors judged a steel entry door replacement as the project expected to return the most money, with an estimated 85.6 percent of costs recouped upon resale. A steel entry door replacement is also the least expensive project in the report, costing little more than $1,100 on average.

A majority of the top 10 cost-effective projects nationally are exterior replacement projects; all are estimated to recoup more than 71 percent of costs.

Three different siding replacement projects landed in the top 10, including fiber cement siding (expected to return 79.3 percent of costs), vinyl siding (72.9 percent) and foam backed vinyl (71.8 percent). Two additional door replacements were also among the top exterior replacement projects. A midrange and upscale garage door replacement were both expected to return more than 75 percent of costs.

According to the report, two interior remodeling projects, however, could also recoup substantial value at resale. A minor kitchen remodel is ranked fifth and expected to return 75.4 percent of costs. Nationally, the project’s average cost is just under $19,000.

The second interior remodeling project in the top 10 is the attic bedroom, with 72.9 percent of costs recouped. With an average national cost of just under $48,000, the attic project adds a bedroom and bathroom within a home’s existing footprint.

On the other side of the value spectrum, the least effective home improvement project is a home office, which would recoup less than 44 percent of the installation cost.

© 2013 Florida Realtors®

Foreclosure vs. Short Sale: Pros & Con

                                        

Weigh Your Options and Make An Informed Decision... 

With today’s reduced property values and increased unemployment, it’s tempting for some homeowners to just throw their hands up in defeat, allow the bank to take their home in foreclosure and rid themselves of the monthly mortgage burden. Even suffering through the paperwork and stress of a short sale may seem too much for an overwhelmed borrower to handle.  But Florida homeowners should be aware of unique rules in the state that make the benefits of a short sale typically outweigh the ease of walking away in a foreclosure.

“I want to be very clear on this, short sales are a better solution than a foreclosure, even when all the options in a situation where you lose your house are not great,” said Mark Greene, owner and president of Short Sale Operations LLC in North Palm Beach.  The biggest difference between Florida and many other states when it comes to losing a home is the deficiency judgment.  While some states ban lenders from collecting the remainder owed on a loan after a foreclosure or short sale is completed, Florida law allows banks to go after borrowers for up to 20 years. That can lead to a garnishment of wages long after the home is gone.In a short sale, where the bank agrees to take a lesser amount for the home than what is owed on a loan, lenders sometimes are willing to write off the deficiency on the front end. 

Greene said in 90 percent of the cases he handles, the bank has waived its right to seek a deficiency. That was the case with Jupiter resident Kathryn Lorello, who in 2008 found herself in a home she couldn’t afford.  Following a divorce, and with three children, Lorello bought a $408,000 home that she lived in comfortably for a year. But then she lost her job as a manager of a real estate company.  She remembers the day the bank served the notice of foreclosure. “I cried my eyes out,” Lorello said. “That’s when I panicked because I really didn’t want it to happen.”  Lorello got advice from Greene on doing a short sale.  Her bank, Wells Fargo, waived its right to seek a deficiency even though it ended up taking $200,000 less than what was owed on the loan.  Also, if a bank refuses to waive the deficiency in a short sale, it still would have to go back to court to seek a judgment.

In a foreclosure, at the end of the proceeding, a deficiency judgment is automatically awarded by the courts and the bank is free to seek a claim.

“In the past, people just wanted to move from the property and get on with their lives and didn’t understand what the lenders’ rights were in terms of pursuing a deficiency claim,” said Paul Baltrun, director of loss mitigation at the LaBovick & La-Bovick law firm “I think people are more aware now about what can happen after the fact and that their nightmare can continue." Another consideration is the effect of a foreclosure or short sale on credit.  According to the Fair Isaac Corp., which developed the widely used measurement of credit risk called a FICO score, the negative effect of a foreclosure is only marginally worse than a short sale.

But in Florida, a deficiency judgment from a foreclosure is likely to have a much larger impact that will prohibit your ability to buy another home for many years.

Daniel Poulos, a mortgage broker with Elite Lending in North Palm Beach who has studied the effect of foreclosures and short sales on credit, said unless a borrower pays off the deficiency, it may be 20 years before someone is eligible for another mortgage. “That’s the kind of information that’s not getting out in Florida,” Poulos said. There are a few situations where some experts believe it is better for someone to go to foreclosure rather than do a short sale. To do a short sale, a borrower must give all of his or her financial information to the bank before it will decide whether to allow the short sale. The idea is that if a person can afford to pay the mortgage, the short sale may be denied. “Now the lender knows everything about your finances and they can better decide whether they will go after you or not,” said Jon Maddux, CEO of YouWalkAway.com, a company that advises people on strategic defaults.  If a lender doesn’t know your finances, Maddux argues, it reduces the chances it will go after you following a foreclosure. “You might fly under the radar,” he said. “With the millions of people going through this, they are probably going to go after the low-hanging fruit.”

Copyright © 2010, The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Kimberly Miller. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

The Color of the Year for 2013 Is …

The Color of the Year for 2013 Is …

10 Metros Where Homes Are Selling the Fastest

  

According to Realtor.com, California listings are seeing some of the shortest times on the market nationwide, according to new data released by Realtor.com. In a couple of markets in that state, listings are averaging about a month or less before being sold.

 

Nationally, for-sale listings sold in a median 111 days in December 2012, which is about 10 percent below the median at the same time one year ago, according to Realtor.com data.

 

The following are the 10 metro areas with the shortest median days on the market in December 2012:

1. Oakland, Calif.: 27 days
2. Stockton-Lodi, Calif.: 32
3. Sacramento, Calif.: 45
4. Denver: 54
5. Fresno, Calif.: 55
6. Bakersfield, Calif.: 61
7. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.: 61
8. San Jose, Calif.: 61
9. Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.: 65
10. San Francisco: 68

Meanwhile, some of the metros with listings that linger the most days on the market are in the coastal areas of the Carolinas and other vacation destinations such as Santa Fe, N.M., (153 days) and Ashville, N.C. (146 days).

To search for homes currently on the market, please visit: www.MichelleRinaldi.com

Mortgage Pricing is Being Hit Hard Today!!!

Mortgage pricing is being hit hard today due a few factors and interest rates are pretty much up1/8th% across the board.

Keyes Mortgage expert Hugh W. Page with Shelter Mortgage mentions the following factors influencing this trend today:

- A one-two punch in Europe overnight with the biggest jump in Germany's business climate index since early 2010 and a bigger than expected payback announcement for banks that borrowed from the ECB's long term refinancing operations

- German Bunds (Europe's equivalent of the US 10yr Treasury) tanked severely moving up 15bps from yesterday afternoon.  US Treasuries followed.

- Rates have been trending higher in the intermediate and longer terms with trends beginning mid 2012 and more prominently in November 2012

- There has been a recent short term "counter-trend" leading back from the high rate levels on the first day of 2013 when 10yr yields hit 1.97+ intraday and closed at 1.91

- US Stock Markets are higher today pressuring bonds.

None of this "optimism" means that the global economy is "fixed," and there's plenty more room for rates to move higher without anything being fixed.  We're simply seeing some...SOME of the "panic premium" being priced out of global risk-free bond markets.  In other words, when risks of an EU collapse and resulting global economic contagion were most prevalent, Investors flocked to core European debt--aka the probably "last countries standing in terms of currency strength if the Euro collapsed.  Treasuries benefited from that spillover, as well as aggressive Fed policy which was arguably driven in part by the European-led downward global economic spiral.  Markets are just now, in the past several months catching a glimpse of a scenario where the global economy does not, in fact, collapse, and the result is playing out in bond prices presently.  This is a rising rate environment, and it would take a 10yr yield moving below the mid 1.6's to change that longer term trend.

Of course, this can all change very quickly and with the Fed still actively in the Secondary Markets buying MBS and Treasuries to the tune of $85 Billion a month there should be some lid on this increase.

BUYING? SELLING? Call me!

Call me for all your real estate needs!!!

Mortgage Rates Vary by Lender... Stubbornly Flat Overall

Mortgage rates were mixed, leaning toward slightly improved to begin the holiday-shortened week.  Several lenders' rate sheets were slightly worse than Friday's while a majority were unchanged to slightly better.  A worse-than-expected report on Existing Home Sales helped interest rates hold their ground.  Despite the moderate improvement overall, it hasn't been enough to affect the Best-Execution levels for 30yr Fixed, Conventional loans, which continue to hover near 3.5% since Thursday.

Stunning Home FOR SALE... JUPITER SCHOOLS!!!

Immaculate home in the heart of Jupiter.

Stonebriar is a wonderful community with very low HOA which includes recreational facilities: pool and tennis!

http://michellerinaldi.keyes.com/1383852__R3296147_130%20Cypress%20Cove_Jupiter.html

Stunning remodeled kitchen and bathrooms - lots of granite
Master bedroom downstairs
Oak wood floors
5 bedroom home - one used as a den/exercise room & 3.5 bathroom
Brand new A/C unit!!
New roof in 2009
Exterior was painted May 2012
New garage door opener
2 car garage 
Fenced Backyard

Kitchen and all bathrooms have been remodeled with granite counters and new cabinets. These are not the "average remodels" - quality granite, the tile in the bathrooms, raised cabinets. The kitchen granite counters are very deep making a perfect counter to eat breakfast or lunch. There is also a large breakfast area in the kitchen - seats 6! Plus a formal dining room. Gorgeous wood floors throughout the living area and downstairs master bedroom. Driveway redone. Accordion shutters on all upstairs windows and the sliders in living and family rooms. There are lots of "hi hat" lights throughout the home and most lights have dimmer switches.

The owners have lovingly updated and maintained this terrific home.  Jupiter schools too! 

CALL TODAY for your private showing!

Michelle Rinaldi

(561) 371-6224

Volume of Home Sales and Property Values are Up in Palm Beach County

Year over year the median price of single-family homes increased 19.6 percent and townhouse-condos increased 15.2 percent in Palm Beach County. "Not surprising," according to Bonnie Lazar, 2012 President of the Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches. Lazar said, "Palm Beach County has demonstrated signs of a clear recovery for close to a year. As a result, the demand for homes increased, sales soared and inventory declined." Year-over-year closed sales of single-family homes are up 15.4 percent, pending sales are up 66 percent and inventory levels are down from a 10.3 month supply to a 4.7 month supply, which is slightly below the six-month "normal" level.

Sellers who have been sitting on the side lines are in a better position to sell now than a year ago. Overall sellers can expect to lock in a solid offer, at or close to the original list price, in much less time than a year ago. "As one would expect, properties in the $100,000 to $200,000 price range are in greater demand and there are fewer homes available. Therefore these types of properties are moving extremely fast and closing at the original list price and above," according to Barb Kozlow, 2013 President-Elect of the Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches.

Based on all property types, closed sales of foreclosed properties are down 47.5 percent from a year ago. Conversely, short sales have increased 15.6 percent from a year ago. Tim Harris, 2013 President of the Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches, suggests, "The increase may show that banks are much more willing to allow people to get out of toxic loans while still using the benefits of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act, which expires at the end of the year." Congress is evaluating a proposed extension and a decision is expected by the end of the year.

The Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches, "The Voice of Local Real Estate," represents over 8,000 members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate.

Snowbirds Race to Snatch up Housing Bargains in Florida

According to the Daily Real Estate News Canadians have traditionally been the dominant foreign buyers of Florida real estate, but now they’re finding increased competition from Asian investors who are reportedly pouncing on Florida housing and condo deals.

“Some of our clients got beat out recently because they were waiting to book flights. Some Chinese investors bought up 35 [townhouse-condo] units without even flying in first,” Wayne Levy of Toronto-based Florida Home Finders told The Toronto Star. “They looked at a picture. They wrote cheques. That’s what’s happening now.”

Asian interest in Florida real estate started picking up last year, according to industry insiders.
“They’re seeing the U.S. as a safe haven to put their money,” Shant Epremian, co-founder of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Pink Palm Properties, told The Toronto Star. “I am slowly starting to tap into that market because there is a tremendous amount of money there. Buyers are looking for good opportunities and see that Florida is still on sale.”

But, some say it’s not Asian buyers that Canadian snowbirds face as their greatest competition for Florida housing deals but investor groups making “bulk investments,” buying up dozens of condos at a time. For example, the Blackstone Group LP, a U.S. private real estate firm, recently spent $2.5 billion snatching up 16,000 houses in nine U.S. cities, including Miami. The investor plans to turn the homes into rentals.

“They are, in essence, wiping out the bottom of the market. It’s forcing other buyers to move up the price ladder,” says John Tuccillo, chief economist for Florida REALTORS® Association.

Real Estate Q&A: Can Seller financing Help Sell a Home?

Question:
I am trying to sell my home but am not getting any showings. I’m thinking about allowing a buyer to finance it through me. Is this a good idea? – Suzanne

Answer:
Gary M. Singer, a Florida attorney and board-certified as an expert in real estate law by the Florida Bar says it certainly can be, depending on your situation. He goes on to say "If you own the property free and clear of any mortgage loans, financing the transaction for the buyer yourself has its advantages. But you’ll need to take precautions to protect your interests.

This sort of arrangement can help attract a deeper pool of prospective buyers who have temporary financial issues. You can finance the property for your buyer at an interest rate much higher than any bank will pay you for storing your money. I recommend that you not finance more than 90 percent of the value of the house and that you charge an interest rate a couple of percentage points higher than what the banks will – 6 percent to 8 percent, for example.

Like any other lender, you should do your basic due diligence, such as requiring a loan application, reviewing the buyer’s credit and getting a reasonable downpayment. The main risk in offering seller financing is that you may have to file for foreclosure. So you should have an attorney prepare the promissory note and mortgage for you and have the closing company issue title insurance on your new loan.

Having said all that, I suggest you carefully analyze why your house is not getting any showings. It could simply be that you’re asking for too much money or the listing itself is poorly worded."

Shrinking Foreclosure Inventory

 

If real estate trends were animals in the Chinese lunar calendar, last year might have been called the “Year of the Disappearing REO.” If real estate data-provider CoreLogic CLGX -1.39% is right, this year will be the “Year of the Tight Inventory.”

Last week, the Journal reported that U.S. home prices are on track to post a yearly gain for the first time since 2006, according to one closely watched national price index.

Behind these price gains—which come as good news to millions of homeowners counting on the value of their houses to carry them into retirement, or those looking to sell or borrow against their homes—is rising demand. Investors, first-time homeowners and move-up buyers alike are all re-entering the market as the economy slowly improves and interest rates remain low.

But another reason prices are climbing is that foreclosures are becoming less relevant in the market. CoreLogic reports that about 1.2 million homes, or 3% of all U.S. homes that have a mortgage, were in some stage of the foreclosure process as of November. This figure, known as the foreclosure inventory, is down 20% from a year ago, when 1.5 million, or 3.5% of all mortgaged homes in the country, were going through the foreclosure process.

Also down is the share of home sales that come from what is known as real estate-owned properties, or REO, which refer to homes that have been repossessed by banks through the foreclosure process.

According to CoreLogic, the REO share fell from 19.6% to 11.5% between January and November of 2012. To wit: banks are selling fewer repossessed homes, which means less competition for sellers who are not in foreclosure, and eventually, rising prices.

There are two main reasons that the REO share, and foreclosures, are down. First, of course, is that delinquencies are down: LPS Applied Analytics reported last month that the mortgage delinquency rate fell from 7.83% to 7.12% between November 2011 and November 2012.

But more significantly, the foreclosure process has become longer, chiefly in states where it is handled by courts. Banks slowed foreclosures after the “robo-signing” scandal emerged two years ago, revealing widespread abuses and sloppy practices in processing legal paperwork related to seizing homes with delinquent mortgages, and began to focus more on short sales and mortgage modifications. A slower foreclosure process and more short sales and loan mods has meant, over the last year, that fewer properties make it all the way through the foreclosure pipeline to REO status.

But the decline in REO share will be less dramatic in 2013, says Sam Khater, CoreLogic’s senior economist. That’s because in non-judicial states like California, Arizona and Nevada, where foreclosures are not always handled by the courts, the foreclosure pipeline has cleared much faster than in judicial states such as Florida, New York and New Jersey.

“The foreclosure crisis has shifted east, to the judicial states, where the pipeline is slow,” Mr. Khater said in an interview Thursday, and the pace at which delinquent loans become REO properties has settled at a fairly slow clip. “The big driver in 2012 in prices increases was the decline in REOs, but I think the big move-down has already happened. The driving prices in 2013 will be the tighter inventory.”

                                                                            By Robbie Whelan
                                                                           The Wall Street Journal, Friday, January 11, 2013

Housing Affordability Sets All-Time Record in 2012

With 11 months of data reported, 2012 will go down as a record year for favorable housing affordability conditions, and a great year for buyers who could get a mortgage, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

NAR’s national Housing Affordability Index stood at 198.2 in November, based on the relationship between median home price, median family income and average mortgage interest rate. The higher the index, the greater the household purchasing power; NAR began tracking housing affordability in 1970.

An index of 100 is defined as the point where a median-income household has exactly enough money to qualify for a median-priced existing single-family home, assuming a 20 percent downpayment and 25 percent of gross income devoted to mortgage principal and interest payments. For first-time buyers making small downpayments, affordability levels are relatively lower.

For all of 2012, NAR projects the housing affordability index to be a record high 194, up from 186 in 2011 – the previous record. November’s reading was 2.5 index points below October, but up 1.5 index points from a year earlier.

“Although 2012 (had the strongest affordability) on record, excessively tight underwriting precluded many would-be homebuyers from locking-in generational low interest rates,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “Rising home prices and a gradual uptrend in mortgage interest rates will offset improvements in family income, but 2013 likely will be the third best on record in terms of household buying power.

“A window of opportunity remains open for buyers who can qualify for a mortgage,” Yun adds.

NAR projects that the housing affordability index will average 160 during 2013, which means that a median-income family would have 160 percent of the income needed to purchase a median-priced existing single-family home. Conditions vary by location, with the highest buying power in the Midwest.

NAR President Gary Thomas said the minor erosion in affordability conditions moving forward could be mitigated by bank and regulatory policies. “Clearer rules from the government regarding future lawsuits and buybacks of Fannie and Freddie loans could encourage banks to use their massive cash holdings to originate more loans,” Thomas says.

“A more sensible lending environment that makes it easier for other financially qualified buyers to get a mortgage would allow many more households to enter the market, boosting home sales as much as 10 to 15 percent,” Thomas says.

                                                                                                                         © 2013 Florida Realtors®

Profit from Weekly Rentals

In January, many people look to make some extra income and focus on a goal other than losing weight or reducing their carbon footprint.

Right after the turn of the New Year, some homeowners start preparing their homes to rent out as vacation rentals for the spring and summer.

“Nowadays because of the economy, everybody is looking for a way to capture a new revenue stream,” said Paul Aubin, president and owner of Newport Beach (Calif.) Vacation Properties. “They already have an asset.”

To attract vacationers who prefer homes to hotel rooms, homeowners can work with a vacation rental agency or market properties themselves through websites such as VRBO.com or ITrip.net.

Barbara O’Hara Hamilton, a Southern California real estate broker, regularly rents out two properties of her own as vacation homes. She said screening prospective renters has left her with no complaints.

“I’ve never had any problems,” Hamilton said. “Nothing broken, nothing stolen. People are usually very respectful.”

Hamilton started using her first property – an upper unit in a duplex in Corona del Mar, in the Newport Beach area – as a vacation rental after she experienced trouble with a full-time tenant who rented annually, she said. Now she markets the unit as a weekly vacation property. Hamilton said she’s making more income, upwards of $6,800 on a fully booked month, much more than the $1,600 per month she netted when the property rented annually to one person. The business has proved so lucrative for Hamilton that she is now renting out a house in Dana Point, Calif., as a second investment property.

“It has just been a win-win,” she said.

About 40 percent of vacationers who rent Hamilton’s property are visitors from other countries. Since the rental agency handles the property, it is turned over and cleaned in between renters while Hamilton collects her income.

Homeowners can potentially make more extra income in a shorter period of time if they rent their home out during peak seasons.

Aubin said the return is “between 20 percent and 30 percent more annually with a vacation rental than if you were to rent it out to one person the entire year.” Homeowners often can net more income from weekly vacation rentals than monthly ones, he said.

“The myths out there are if you go with weekly rentals, your house will be destroyed,” he said. “That’s not the case.”

Aubin’s company screens incoming rental inquiries, checking out potential renters to give homeowners peace of mind that their home won’t be mishandled.

He said his company typically gets a rush of people looking to rent out their properties in early January. With the spring break market starting in late March and lasting through the end of April, homeowners need to start now to get homes listed and ready to rent to vacation renters.

“If you’re a homeowner and you’re trying to prepare your home and market it for those time periods, you really need to get it up on the websites in January,” Aubin said.

Cleanliness and amenities – modern bathrooms, king-sized beds, wireless Internet access and hardwood floors – increase rental rates, Aubin said.

“The expectation isn’t too different than when people are buying a house,” he said.

The minimum a homeowner could rent out a home and still make a large profit is 10 weeks in the summer season, Aubin said. “To really reap the rewards in this business, ideally you would want to buy an investment property and turn it over to a (vacation rental) company,” he said. “You just sit back and get your check every month.”

Aubin predicts a busy spring and summer vacation rental market, saying his company is busy with travel bookings at a time that is typically the slowest of the year for business. He said his company is also getting calls from homeowners wanting to rent properties.

“The economy has kind of shifted and motivated these people that were wealthy years ago,” Aubin said. “They’re still doing pretty well, but everyone is looking to capture that money they lost in the market. And they’re making some tremendous money doing it.”

                                                               Home rental preparation

• Establish a possible financial forecast. How many weeks out of the year will it be rented out and at what rate?
• Apply for a business license with the city.
• De-personalize the home and remove clutter.
• Remove personal items and confidential files and papers.
• Ensure the home has Wi-Fi internet access.
• Stock the kitchen with the appropriate tools and cookware; stock bedrooms with an extra set of linens.
• Remove medications and personal toiletries from the bathroom; provide beach towels.
• Prepare an instruction sheet for home electronics.
• Inform neighbors that the property will be rented out for a period of time.

                                                       Copyright © 2013 The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.)

                                                                                              Distributed by MCT Information Services.

The Worst Day... I Thought!

Had the worst day... My daughter Ella cried all morning not wanting to go to school, my car thought I was stealing it and wouldn't start, as I pulled into Ella's school she throws up, I bring her into the school office only to find out there is no school today, I'm late to my 9:00am meeting and two hours later I lock my keys in the car while getting gas and have to wait over an hour for AAA to show up... but ...while waiting at the gas station starving and so irritated I grab the New York Post and read the cover artice... it's about a family whose nanny killed two of their three children on the Upper West Side and how they are making the most of their life trying to survive. I realized then I was not having a bad day and I became thankful for the day I was having.

Mortgage Debt Tax Relief Extended

A tax break for forgiven mortgage debt that was set to expire Dec. 31 was extended by lawmakers when they dodged the “fiscal cliff” this week.

The tax break, which has been extended to the end of 2013, allows home owners facing short sales, reduced loan principals, or foreclosures to avoid paying taxes on any debt still owed to the bank.

Otherwise, the debt would have been taxed by the IRS as income.

The tax break first took effect in 2007.

Home owners had rushed to complete short sales before the end of the year out of fear that the tax break would not be extended.

In Florida, short sales have sold on average for about $103,000 less than what the home owner owed.
As such, a typical home seller in that state in, say, the 25 percent tax bracket who completed a short sale in 2013 would have been faced with a $25,725 tax bill if the extension had expired.

                                                                                  Daily Real Estate News | Friday, January 04, 2013
 

45 Life Lessons

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step..
3. Life is too short - enjoy it..
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it...
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to be happy. But it's all up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special         
       occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23 Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive but don't forget.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does..
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38.. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need.
42. The best is yet to come...
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

                                                                                                                                                        by Regina Brett