Fairbanks, AK

It's time to send a message to our government... Stop Spending Our Money.

I have long been a small government fiscal conservative. The Federal Government was not designed to be nor did the Founding Fathers dream it would ever evolve into a bloated, inefficient, constituent ignoring, revenue inhaling entitlement distribution center.

It's time for a modern Declaration of Independence from those who serve only to further their own power. We need to return this nation to her people.

Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. -Declaration of Independence

I have no desire to see my children and grandchildren saddled with the debt from this seemingly endless stream of federal handouts. $12.7 trillion?! Where does it end? If we leave it up to the politicians in Washington it won't.

Attention Patriots! It's time for a Tea Party. The last one sent a clear message that our current 'representatives' would do well to heed.

WHEN: April 15, 2009

Principles of negotiation. Books have been written about it. Speakers travel the world lecturing about it. Millions have been spent trying to uncover the secret. For some, it will remain an abstract principle they will sadly never master.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to speak with a fellow for whom negotiations had not been a kind mistress. This fellow, we'll call him Stanley, set out to buy a home for his family and ended up outmaneuvered by a more skilled negotiator into a contract he now wishes he had never signed.

Stanley and his family had been renting a small house in Fairbanks for the past couple of years. It was comfortable and the price was right but with the changes in the housing market, he hoped to make the transition from renter to owner. A yard for his children to play in... a place in which to make memories of opening presents on Christmas mornings and birthday BBQ's on the deck. Reasons which we can no doubt all relate to.

When Stanley found 'the house' he sat down with his lender and later the seller to hammer out the details of a purchase agreement. The seller was ready to sell... he and his wife had plans of moving to be closer to their grandchildren and were ready to take the house off the market.

"Let's get this done and get you moved in." Motivated seller. That's good, right?

Having watched HGTV's endless parade of real estate programming and read every real estate article he saw on MSN, he had a plan. Take the purchase price, slice 10% off the top and negotiate up from there, if necessary. Armed with his offer strategy, Stanley and the sellers put pen to paper and in short order had a mutually agreeable contract.

"10% off the asking price and the seller agreed to pay $5,500 toward our closing costs if we would waive any contingencies and close in three weeks." The anguish was palpable as he told me the story. He ddn't need to continue... I knew the house and where this conversaton was going.

"Earnest money was placed in escrow with the title company. An appraisal was ordered and we were planning furniture placement." Imagine Stanley's surprise when the lender calls to say the appraisal came in... well... a little low. Seems as though there's a near $37,000 difference between appraised value and the contract price.

A call to the seller turns the butterflies in Stanley's stomach to catapulting, trapeze-flying monkey's trying to claw their way through his belly button. No re-negotiations. "You agreed to remove the contingencies for the 10% price reduction and the $5,500 in closing costs I'm paying" replied the seller. Hmmm. Now what? This is where Stanley begins his search for answers and where he lands on this blog and calls us for answers... guidance... absolution... something.

Unfortunately the only truly helpful advice I could offer is a referral to a reputable real estate attorney. Where and how did the train heading to paradise go so far off the tracks?

Representation - Stanley had none. No buyer-agent representation. No legal representation. Nothing. Mano-a-mano as it were. Given the complexities of contract law, finance, discovery, disclosures, etc. representation is key. A buyers-agent is the buyers advocate in a transaction. What a concept, huh? Their primary responsibility is to protect and promote the buyers interests. Most of the time said representation comes at little to no cost to the buyer.

Research - If you don't know the local real estate market, you need to hire someone who does. A sellers asking price is simply a number. Unrepresented sellers are notorious for having an inflated opinion of their homes worth. What are comparable homes selling for? How long is it taking to sell those homes... and how does that compare to the subject property? You need detailed market information... and someone to interpret that data.

Last but not least, forget the hype. Not even HGTV, your Uncle Bob in Poughkeepsie or Donald 'Combover' Trump will be much help in crafting a negotiation strategy in Fairbanks, Alaska... or in any market they're not well versed in. When the time comes to buy a home for your family, and now is a pretty good time, rely on a local expert. As luck would have it, I happen to know a couple.

(gold man image courtesy of Guido Jansen)

One of the tidbits we always pass along to folks new to Alaska is to mind your pets and children when outside and never leave them unattended. Bears, wolves, and moose are routinely spotted in local neighborhoods. While we're a little bigger than the fictional town of Cicely on Northern Exposure, we still regularly see critters wandering around town oblivious to the urban sprawl.

This is still their country.

I snapped these photos this afternoon near the Airport Way/University Avenue intersection. Although there were lots of rubberneckers and a few people, including yours truly, snapping photo's, Mamma and Baby were too busy munching on willows to care.

click on the photo's to enlarge

Although I sometimes take chances getting close enough to get 'the shot' it's not something I would recommend. They may look slow and clumsy but when provoked or frightened moose can be quite agile... and aggressive.

It isn't exactly an Kincaid landscape, is it?. Like many of our northern neighbors we're still covered in snow. A lot of it. The good news is it is melting. The bad news is it's taking it's sweet time about it.

While I'll admit that I'm not overly fond of watching the mercury drop below negative sixty, I love winter. The beauty that comes with a drastically altered landscape, weekend trips to the mountains to sit in front of a roaring fire and drink hot toddies or picnicking on the back of the snowmachine in the middle of a frosted forest. That said, I'm ready for spring, darnit.

Although Fairbanks is still covered in a three-foot deep blanket of snow thoughts have turned from shoveling snow to planting gardens, tending flowerbeds, and lawn and tree care. One of the most respected gardening experts in Fairbanks is Michele Hebert (.PDF). As the Land Resources Agent for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and a Master Gardener in her own right, Michele knows first hand what works and doesn't with respect to growing anything in the Interior.

The Cooperative Extension Service has a library of more than 300 low or no cost publications such as a Flower Planting Schedule, A Key to Flower Growing in Alaska, Vegetable & Fruit Varieties for Interior Alaska and Raised Bed Gardening in Alaska. Looking to bring your lawn back to life or advice for putting in a new lawn? Establishing your Fairbanks Lawn, Controlling Lawn Moss, Alaska Lawn Maintenance and/or Managing Alaskan Lawns might help.

One of our favorite local greenhouses is Holm Town Nursery and Garden Center owned by Jim and Marcia Holm. The real treasure of Holm Town is the greenhouses full of bedding plants, vegetable starts, perennials, and trees and shrubs In addition to a large greenhouse inventory, Holm Town is staffed by great folks who I would wager could answer any gardening question you might have.

Even if you weren't born with a green thumb, with the help of the Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and the great folks at Holm Town, your yard and garden will be the envy of the neighborhood.