There isn`t a person on Active Rain that wasn`t in some way affected by the great Economic Deluge of 2008!

Mortgage Fraud,Bad Credit,Foreclosures,Short Sale`s,the list goes on and on! The War,Car

Manufactures,Wall Street, 401K`s.

We`ve All been there and done that! Heck, we`re still standing after the smoke clears,right?!

One striking trait , we as Americans have is the "Ability to bounce back" and land on our feet!

Thankfully, we`re not a Socialist Country, or ruled by a Dictatorship! We live in a country where we`re free to do as we please!

2008 was a true test for millions of Americans,yet one common trait we as Americans have is

"OUR PRIDE". The will to win and survive!

That`s what makes this country so great!

I`m proud to be an American.

No matter what, we as Americans continue to move forward not letting anything get in our way!

As long as we have our health,families and the good sense of remaining positive. Things always have a way of working out!

I`m looking forward to a "Great 2009"....

How about you?

Happy New Year!!

ActiveRain You've done it again. While I was in the hospital the other day, I got an email for AR. I first I glanced over it thinking it was a Lead for the lead genarotor AR has, but when I looked over it again it wasn't.

Here is was the email stated:

Hi Jeannette,

I am seeking a realtor to sell my condo in Las Terrazas in Miramar,FL. I read your profile and liked what I saw. You seem to be hardworking and easy to work with. If you are interested in working with me, let me know ASAP, because I am trying to get it sold ASAP.

I was delighted with the email. I responded the same day, but not right away, since at first glanced I missed it. But here was my responce, very simple and to the point:

Good morning and thank you for your interest in me.

I would love to work with you and getting your condo sold. Let me know when you would like to get together.

If you could let me know what your address is so I could do some research?

Look for forward to working with you.

Jeannette

I got her responce a day later:

Joanne Celestin

Now mind you, most of my post are LOCALISM post, her recent contact was from a JUST SOLD post. I LOVE Localism. I think it's my favorite part of AR, besides the Friendships I have created here!

Are you using LOCALISM? If not you should! Take it from me, I have gotten several leads from it!

Have a GREAT 2009 year, I know I will!

As I posted in a previous blog post of a recent closing. Here are some great home photos for you to view. I will update with some photos with my clients when they come in two weeks.

Thanks for all the encouragement with this transaction! It helped just to get through it. Midori thank you for all the calming talks we had! Its great to still have you as a mentor!!

So here we have 16250 SW 49th Ct, Miramar, Fl in Rivera Isles!

This is the lovely kitchen with:

• Granite Countertops
• Updated Cabinets,
• and a Glass Stovetop!

Here you have me in this picture with my youngest son Andrew. This was his third time at this house and has gotten to know this family very well!

And here we have one of the brother's buying a home. He is just looking through his

brother's house and then off to see his!

This is the view when you first enter the home. The Formal Living room and contiunes on to the Dining Room and then the Kitchen.

This is a lovely view of the back of the home. Nice long covered patio and plenty space still for a pool!

And to top it off look at that View!!! What a way to end the day, pull out a lawn chair and sit back and RELAX!!! Now that's what I'm talking about!!

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is not ruling out the possibility of making insurance companies eligible for TARP assistance. In a press conference Tuesday morning, Paulson said that several insurance companies already qualified for the aid as bank holding companies but the Treasury, he said, has not made a decision to include all insurance companies at this stage.





It is not clear whether Paulson is considering requiring insurance companies to become bank holding companies, or purchase an existing bank to qualify as such, before receiving aid under the Troubled Assets Relief Program. Insurers that decide to make such a move would come under a measure of federal regulatory control.

Paulson's words today must sound like music to the ears of companies such as Hartford Financial Services (HIG:NYSE), Lincoln National (LNC:NYSE), Genworth Financial (GNW:NYSE) and Aegon (AEG:NYSE) -- insurance companies that in recent days attracted a lot of attention by purchasing troubled savings and loan companies as a way to try to qualify for TARP funding.

With today's statement -- namely, that the Treasury is not ruling out insurers for TARP aid -- the chances of the insurance banks getting access to the TARP funds has risen exponentially and so should the stock of those insurance companies.

Will Paulson's words encourage other insurers to purchase troubled banks or thrifts so that they can get in line for TARP funds, or at least start negotiations on the chance that funding breaks in the insurers' favor?

MetLife (MET:NYSE) has been a bank holding company since well before this financial crisis began, and its president and CEO, Robert Henrikson, has been reticent on the matter, Henrikson said only, "We will explore all options. Other than that, no comment," during the company's recent third-quarter earnings conference call. Speculation is rife that MetLife is a candidate for purchasing some of AIG's assets.

American International Group (AIG:NYSE) is the biggest individual bailout recipient with $173 billion in aid, dwarfing the $45 billion that banking giant Citigroup (C:NYSE) was gifted. AIG, however, is not a bank holding company but an insurer, albeit a massive one.

Currently, the states' insurance commissioners oversee AIG's insurance companies, none of which were not the cause of company's problems., However, Paulson has made no secret of his belief that the group should be federally controlled.

Paulson stated the intention to link together the various federal agencies' plans to bring centralized control to the financial sector over this crisis. Paulson said that the financial crisis has expanded well beyond mortgage-backed securities. Allowing TARP funding for the insurance industry will complicate the issue of regulatory control over the insurance companies, as the individual states and the Treasury Department will likely both want regulatory oversight of the industry.

State insurance commissioners currently regulate all insurance companies, but Paulson believes that insurance companies should be under some form of federal supervision.





AIG could not purchase a bank, but potentially it could become a bank holding company. With the taxpayer in the driving seat as a shareholder, perhaps Paulson might consider indicating to the board that this is a desirable move.

Heidi Cline, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, said the NAIC had no prepared statement but would try to get someone to respond to Secretary Paulson's comments.

So much for helping the people that needed help in the first place.

Seems the bailout bill maybe over for the housing market ,but that doesn`t mean it`s over for Hedge Fund investors.

John Paulson of hedge fund "Paulson & Co is betting that securities tied to troubled mortgages will start to improve.

Such a move,observer's said is looked at as a sign the troubled mortgages will start to improve.

Paulson began investing into the mortgage market after the Treasury secretary backed off of his original bailout plan to buy back troubled mortgages.

Seems many other hedge funds are looking to follow suit as the market gets ready for another drop!