Our state legislature is at it again…and not in a good way. Their latest plan racing through to a triumphant signing by our governor is cutting the Housing Trust Fund by 2/3 and sending that money to whatever they feel like. If you or I “diverted” hundreds of millions of dollars a year from a trust fund…you know they would throw us in jail for a long time. That trust fund was established in 1992 to provide affordable workforce housing opportunities, and it has helped thousands of lower income working people get the dream of home ownership. Now there will apparently be 2/3 less money. And you know you has funded that trust fund for 29 years? Everyone who bought and sold homes as part of what you see on your closing statement as Documentary Stamps on the Deed and Mortgage. Those taxes amount to about half a BILLION dollars a year. And you are likely to have paid for that. But your legislators think they can just divert the money (let’s not call it stealing because many of them are lawyers:) The only way you can #Stopthesteal is to tell them–“no way, there will not be any more theft on our watch. ” And if they do not heed the need for affordable housing, vote them all out next year!
Glass Ceiling is Broken
Unprecedented. We keep hearing the word and it becomes almost annoying. Hey, media, analysts, wags…we know. The last year had a lot of things that never happened before, or haven’t happened for 100 years. But in yesterday’s inauguration, we saw something new as a woman, and the child of immigrants and a person of color, was sworn in as Vice President of the United States. We have had people run for the highest offices–Hillary Clinton, Shirley Chisholm, Geraldine Ferraro, and a slew of candidates last year. But none ever reached this level of government. We have 37 female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies but frankly, that is not enough. The nations in our world who make the greatest strides give equal opportunity to all. While we have committed in our democracy and system of laws to do the same, there have been 75 nations since the first in 1950 to have a woman head of state. Our country is still among the few without such a head of state. Women bring a different perspective to leadership and progress is measured in how we make our country the kind of place the founders dreamed it would be. My prayer is that not only does Kamala Harris do an outstanding job as Vice President, but that it paves the way for more women to be elected. Slavery was abolished 158 years ago, yet voter suppression continues. Women were given the right to vote 101 years ago, and it took that long to elect a woman to a national leadership position. Some reading this disagree with Vice President Harris’ politics, just as you disagree with those of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But the times appear to finally be changing, and recognizing that women should be equal partners in progress. This is truly not about politics or policies. This is about making sure that we move this great country from a male-dominated society to an inclusive one, that encourages and welcomes young women to strive to be anything they want to be–whether it be a corporate titan, or eventual leader of the free world.
Customer Service, round 103
Going through the change to just list and sell property now, and I have to say, if it is this difficult for anyone to move company, sell a company, and get changed over on the state, Orlando Realtors, Supra e-key and Stellar MLS, it is a miracle anyone ever gets anything done. It took three weeks for the state of Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation to finally accept the letter and proper signed forms that indicated I was resigning as broker. And now that the state of Florida indicates it has been accomplished, I was out showing a house. But I could not, because the ekey would not operate and it indicated after I called Supra (who manufactures the key system) that I would need to call ORRA. So I called three folks at ORRA and one finally picked up the phone and tried to help. But after manually changing, it still did not update. At the same time, when I try to log into the Stellar MLS, it required me to sign electronic paperwork indicating I was “signing up for service.” Having had the service for more than 36 years…that did not make sense. So I spent 30 minutes with a very nice rep on the Stellar number yesterday, at which point he let me know that they could not figure out what was happening, but that they would be “escalating” the ticket. OH, GOOD, I am ESCALATED. Same thing happened today, at which point I called back and the same nice young man tried to help me and said it would be escalated again. Glad to hear, but it seems that in all systems Realtor related, nothing is actually working. So I am hoping that all these escalations lead to me being able to use the systems I paying over $1000 a year to use. So I can help my clients…and earn that money back. I think what bothers me most in the days we live in is to call customer service ANYWHERE, only to be on hold for long periods of time where Yanni music plays and every couple of minutes they come back to say “Your call is very important to us, thank you for calling (name of company” My thinking is this–if my call was important to you, you would have someone answer my call and then do something to help me. But I guess that is no longer the American way. Oh, well…back to the pandemic
Freedom
On the heels of Memorial Day, let us all give thanks for the millions of men and women who have served our nation throughout the past 244 years. First, to those who gave their lives for our freedom, our eternal gratitude. No greater sacrifice can be given. But also to those who currently serve and those who are veterans of national service, we give thanks for their courage.
All of them continue to give to all of us in recognition of our Founders’ pledge of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is a beautiful phrase. It paved the way for us to live as free individuals who could do whatever we want for a job, a career, a spouse, a religious belief, to have children or not, to move, to criticize the government as long as we do so peacefully. Our freedoms are basically unlimited unless they abridge the freedoms of others. For example, to shout “Fire” in a theater is an example of abridging and harming others with our constitutionally protected right of free speech.
So now we come to a critical juncture in our long history. Covid-19. On May 7, the President said it will go away never to be seen again. Earlier in the pandemic, he said the cases would be 0 in the US very soon. But along the way, he gave all responsibility to the state governors and they all came out with a variety of protection procedures designed to keep the public safe while the virus played out to the tune of almost 100,000 deaths as of today, and 1.7 million infections in this free country. I am not here to make political statement, but I am here to tell you one thing–if we do not take precautions: wear masks and maintain social distancing…there will be more waves of this virus until we have a vaccine.
I urge all of you to just take those simple precautions–wear a mask, maintain distancing in public, at work, in house of worship, restaurants, wherever you go. Because I feel the pain of not going out at all. I believe we are at a point where cloistering in place as a society will have limited benefit and might kill what is left of our economy, which is still the #1 economy in the world. But simply ripping off the masks and giving everyone a hug, as good as that might feel today, will no doubt result in tens or even hundreds of thousands more deaths and virus victims in the future. Anyone who says they would gladly die to keep our economy rolling along clearly does not understand economics nor do they understand the science nor do I want any of them making policy at the local, state or national level. This is not about blue or red states or regions. This is about the red, white and blue ideal of sacrificing a few of those “I can do anything I want” freedoms in exchange for much less than our brave soldiers did…kind of like hunkering down to protect the entire country from a virus that has already killed 100,000 of our brave fellow citizens. That would be the same as if 650 full airlines crashed. It is more than all the soldiers killed in Korea and Vietnam, and those wars took a collective 13 years to fight. And it has only taken less than 4 months to take the toll. Don’t make it worse, take precautions. We will get through this. But we will get through it best if we remember how many brave men and women fought to get us here in the first place and we don’t just run off to the beach and Disney and all the other places we want to go this summer without remembering the sacrifices of those who got us here.
36 Years of Service
36 years ago today, the State of Florida licensed me to sell real estate. I would like to take a moment to thank all of the people who helped in my career. First of all my wife Janet Balanoff, who had enough faith to encourage me to leave the world of regular paychecks behind to enter the risky world of getting paid only for successful sales. Then my kids, Michael Balanoff and Stephanie Boyd, who with Janet working, sometimes tagged along on appointments. Thanks to my clients, who stuck with me and discussed their most private needs and wants. Folks like Ed Collins and his wife Connie Woods- Collins, who stuck with me right from the beginning, and still use my advice to help them pick a home. There have been hundreds of sales over the years, and after getting my broker license in 1992, literally thousands of transactions supervised. I would also like to pay tribute to my very first broker, Judy Hamrick. A dynamo if there ever was one, she supervised and trained an office with 30 agents and would still find time to keep a listing inventory of 20 or 30 homes at any given time. She taught me how to devote yourself to clients above all and make a good living. Then there were Ned Heath and Patrick Higgins of Higgins and Heath fame. Reputable, hard working and built their company the right way. Many of the folks I met there are still friends as well as colleagues. Then in 2000 I decided to go out on my own, but not by myself, starting the RE/MAX Select franchise in Oviedo. I cannot say enough about all of you who made the brokerage work, and cared enough that we were two years in a row among the top 20 small companies in the nation in customer satisfaction according to Rated Agent. Along the way I was honored to work beside great leaders like our current ORRA President Reese Stewart and his wife Julie. With Realtor of the Year Beverly Evans and Maxine Platt. With 12 RE/MAX Hall of Famers including John Campese, Realtor magazine 30 under 30 Tara Moore, two time 40 under 40 award winner Amber Finch, and a team of professionals who made it all worthwhile. Jackie Miller, a legend in Oviedo, who continues to do high quality sales having worked over 20 years in the business and one of the first to leave her company to join us. With Karen Geisler, whose kindness and client care is unmatched. With so many great ORRA leaders like Reese, the guy who asked me to be on the Board of Directors, the late Ron Acker who saw potential. My original partners Beth Jordan, Jack and Joanne Young, Brad McCulloch, and Janice Fisher. You all made a difference over a long career. While I will not give it another 36 years (not sure I want to work till 100:) I am grateful to be busy just taking care of folks, the same as I did in 1984, only with a little more wisdom on my side. Thanks to you all!
Fear vs. Opportunity
“Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy and Greedy When Others Are Fearful”
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Hi, friends, if you are not familiar with this quote, become familiar. Even after the 20% drop in the stock market, and fears caused by the coronavirus pandemic of worldwide catastrophe…Buffett’s words still ring true. Greed is not my word for it. Substitute “Bold” if you wish. “Be Fearful When Others are Bold, and Bold When Others are Fearful.”–Gary Balanoff
The virus will pass for 99.99% of the world’s population. So what do we do coming out of it? Businesses and service professionals like me are taking precautions as we all must. But we all will still need a place to live that fits our needs. We are here to provide that. While we have to plan and be prudent, we must not let fear get in the way of our dreams and goals. The next 6 months will be an excellent time to find a new place to live. There are options out there for almost everyone with credit or cash. And if you have both, you are in particularly good position.
Many seniors are in a spot where they are considering moving closer to children and grandchilden, retiring in peace, or even moving to a senior facility. After the outbreaks of coronavirus which started in the US in a senior facility, if you have any way of delaying such a move now…I would do so…until the facilities around the nation can prove their ability to halt spread of all viruses. The bottom line is that moving forward you will no doubt see a safer future moving in with children than you would have being surrounded by folks in the same danger group. This is true even after this virus threat has subsided, because, let’s face it, those of us over 60 are more susceptible to picking up infections than the young. While my disclaimer is that I am not a doctor or health care expert, it only makes sense that after reading the numbers of how many people are killed via hospital and nursing home infections I feel better prepared in self quarantine than I do surrounded by older and potentially sick people.
So consider the opportunities available to you now and call me if you have questions about your housing future and want to discuss options…407-325-7667.
Banking in Today’s World
On Oct. 17 someone tried to write a check on my corporate bank account at Wells Fargo for almost $5000. Fortunately, I noticed in my online account and realized I had not written the check, so I went across the street to my local branch, and asked them to investigate and cancel the check. They voided it, which I appreciated. But when I called the City of Oviedo Police, they said they needed front and back of check, which I provided, and was led to believe the perp would be investigated and found. I mean, they have cameras everywhere, which would be able to determine who was trying to cash the check, where and when. Then they could ask the person trying to deposit or cash the check who gave it to them. And the conspiracy to defraud would be stopped! So I am thinking this is actually happening after hours of talks with the bank and the police. Then on Nov. 5, the same thing happens again. Similar signature, but a different vendor! So the same person tried to defraud me again. So I go through more hours of writing out my report, turning in front and back of check. And oh, by the way, the check was not actually stolen, the thief just trying to duplicate the check with different information but the same routing number, which made it appear that someone who had actually done business with us was responsible for almost $10,000 in bad checks.
I called back yesterday to the detective assigned to the case and he apologized because he said he was told that Wells Fargo told him the matter was resolved. I asked him what was he talking about, and he said they had notified me that because I had not lost any money and not been actually charged the $10,000 in the account, that I had not suffered any harm. As if two or more scammers trying to defraud me of $10,000 was simply not worth their time and trouble. No, they had not notified me. But Wells Fargo is the same company that spent years and 5300 employees’ time setting up 2,000,000 fake accounts resulting in a fine earlier this year of $185 Million. Now, are they at it again? Are they just writing off their losses, and failing to take the time to track down the overwhelming number of fraudulent attempts to hack their systems. It is apparently not worth their time to track because my inconvenience and time does not add up to much in the long run. But my experience coupled with millions of others is a warning call to everyone who is being defrauded on a daily basis in this country. I have had recent attempts to hack my credit card (who hasn’t?) resulting in new cards being sent on a pretty regular basis. This most recent time a week ago I found three suspicious charges which I reported, and they are supposedly in the process of solving. But as long as they take them off the account, I guess they have done their best. I tried to close the account, but instead they set up a new account (kind of harkens back to their recent missteps, doesn’t it). But when I questioned opening a new account, moving the last several charges to the new account, while not taking them off the old account, they said “That’s how we do it.” I asked them to stop, cancel all my accounts, and I can be rid of Wells Fargo forever. I have poured millions of dollars through that corporate account. But no more. I would suggest to all of you reading this post to find a local credit union…place your money there, and be done with the banks…especially Wells Fargo, which even after a $185 Million fine, is still not cleaning up its act. Would be interested to see if any of you have had similar experiences.
Saying Good Bye to a Friend
This afternoon at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Winter Springs, family and friends bade farewell to a good and decent man. I know how much Chuck McLaughlin loved his wife Betty, his kids and grandkids, his late brother. He not only gave them life but made sure they understood what it meant to be a faithful person. Truth be told, I had not seen Chuck since Higgins and Heath Real Estate went away in 1999. We all went our separate ways. My regret was not staying in close touch with Chuck and Betty. They were both such lovely people. Kind, generous, loving to not only family, but to those they didn’t know. Chuck played Santa Claus at all kinds of functions over the years. He enjoyed making children happy. Hey, that is Santa’s job, right? He took that seriously, but he did not take himself too seriously. Today we witnessed an outpouring of love in recognition of his passing. I have faith that Chuck is either sharing a hearty laugh with God…or perhaps God is giving him a tour of the most heavenly golf course ever. (Chuck liked to play golf.) We will miss him, and his laughter and kindness. Betty, may his spirit keep you company. To the rest of the family, keep his lessons close to you and continue to live out the dreams he had for all of you.
And if you never met Chuck McLaughlin, you probably have someone like him that you miss–a grandparent, parent, sibling, or friend. Their spirit does live on, so just because they are not able to speak with you or give you comfort, keeping them close and remembering their care for you should allow you to more easily comfort a stranger…or give encouragement to a child…or just smile more often. We all create a better world by keeping the light of Chuck and others like him burning and giving hope.
Feel free to share.
6 More Days Till Election
This will be one of the most critical elections in our nation’s history. I am not going to tell you who to vote for. I will give you insights that will help you in your decision-making process.
1. The system is broken. When our president attacks our allies and stands up for dictators like Vlad Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, it is simply not right. When Democratic leaders fail to provide specific ideas of what they will do, that is not right. Our election has become one PAC commercial after another harping on how criminal the opponent is. It needs to stop and we need to force our elected officials to come up with solutions, not attack the opponents.
2. We must harken back to the days of 1970’s Silent Majority. Most of us feel afraid to speak up because we will be called out on social media platforms and criticized for our beliefs. People can have, and should have, different beliefs. God created all of us, and He made no junk. But some things we need to stand and defend. When Donald Trump says he will write an executive order to basically overturn the 14th Amendment, he no longer stands for Constitutional government, which he is sworn to uphold. The right of everyone born here to be a U.S. Citizen was established in the 1860’s when African slaves were given citizenship. It was the right thing to do then, and taking offense at mostly Hispanic Americans who were born here is just wrong. He knows he cannot do it, despite his windbag speeches and tweets. The deluge of lawsuits will eventually stop such an executive order, even if it is written. It would be overturned by courts concerned about actually protecting the rights of citizens. I would assert that the majority of Americans believe in diversity. As a white Protestant male, I am ashamed of those who think blacks, Hispanics, and Jews do not deserve their rightful place in our society. And I call on all non-racists to stand up and cry out “Enough is enough. These are our brothers and sisters, do NOT deprive them of the right to vote, earn a living, and protect our nation in our armed services! And do not go into their churches and synagogues and kill them with semi-automatic weapons, rifles and handguns.”
3. Turn back the efforts of the Kansas and Georgia secretaries of state, who happen to be running for governor in close elections, to suppress the votes of minority citizens. They have the right to cast votes, and making it more difficult for ANY citizen to vote is simply wrong and needs to be rooted out and corrected!
4. Bring mental health to the front of the medical care systems in America, because there are way too many folks out there who need it. I’m not just talking about the mass murderers and would-be mass murderers. I am talking about regular citizens who are faced with impossible choices–do I buy groceries for my family or do I buy them the live saving medications they need? That decision is enough to make you go over the edge.
5. Bring universal health care to the nation. It should be a right when we live in the richest nation in the world that no one has to make the decision “Do I have enough money to afford a doctor?”
6. Start making peace wherever it is possible. Instead of stirring up divisions by taking money out of the budget to pay for help in Central American nations. By taking away the aid, you drive more caravans to our country. Let those people enjoy a standard of living that does not involve poverty, drug wars, and health hazards. It is cheaper to do that than send 5200 American troops to the border…especially when so many of the folks in the caravan are looking for jobs and a life in Mexico and will never reach the American border.
7. Stop the tariffs. The main effect is the expenses for so many things that we buy in America is going up because of it. Re-establish trading partnerships, and realize while we do it that having a trade deficit or surplus is not that important. When you buy a Japanese car, you pay a Japanese company $30,000. That puts us at a $30,000 trade deficit. BUT YOU STILL HAVE A CAR! And considering that most things made in China have parts made in a variety of countries including America, is it really even a deficit?
8. Stand up for justice. To say that we are a trading partner of Saudi Arabia does not give their leaders the right to jail and kill their own people, nor ours! If we are such a strong country, stand up when human rights abuses take place and sanction the violators till they clean up their act.
9. Clean up our act. Every time people are murdered here in America in the name of race purity, it drives us back to the cleansing of Nazi Germany, when a very bad man decided that Jews should not live, or be free to do work that actually benefited the country. Every time we defend neo-Nazis and self proclaimed nationalists who are being encouraged to kill or deport everyone who does not match our skin color, it brings shame on the people who have fought for democracy around the world and saved us from the depravities of Nazis, fascists, communists and brutal dictatorships.
I could go on all day, but these are my 9 rules for truly making America great. Anyone willing to make it happen? You have the right to stand up for what you believe. I have already cast my vote. If you have not already done so, please do, because if you remain in the shadows, our democracy and our republic will remain there as well. Thank you.
That Was Exciting…If You Stayed Awake
The past two nights, Major League Baseball has staged two highly competitive, exciting, action-packed games. Two nights ago, the Milwaukee-LA Dodgers struggle took 13 innings and 5 hours. Last night, the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros traded punches till the last out when Andrew Benentendi made a circus catch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning to preserve an 8-6 victory.
So what is wrong with this picture? The games ended long after midnight Eastern Time. I realize for those of you on the West Coast this is no big deal. The National League game mentioned ended around 11 PM. But for those in the East, the clock was striking 2 AM! Those of us who have jobs cannot stay up that late. Start the games earlier, and some of us might have been able to watch the ending.
It was great entertainment, something MLB struggles to provide during a 162-game regular season that starts with 20 pre-season games here in Florida and in Arizona. So the players work out in February for real, then the season goes March through September, and finishes at Halloween. Kind of tough for the fans of all those teams who stink, because they are eliminated around May from reasonable contention. But baseball thrives in October, when days get shorter, and colder in the north. And the play is reduced to the best of the best. But who is watching? Marketwatch reported that the average age of a baseball fan in America is 57. Young people cannot watch when the games go till 2 AM. It might never go back to the way it was when I was a kid, and World Series games were staged in daylight. In fact it won’t because the advertising dollars are much higher for prime time telecasts. But with everything going to online streaming, the networks are overpaying for the product, and hoping to simply capture a bunch of 57-year-olds who are still willing to watch.
But clearly, baseball, as good as the product being displayed, has an image problem. Has anyone seen Mike Trout play a game? He is probably one of the generation’s best players, but his team stinks and he plays on the West Coast. Outside of Red Sox fans like me, anyone of you ever heard of Andrew Benentendi? Raise your hands, seniors! I am not the first to plead sanity and want baseball to be played in the daylight this time of year. But the reality is that most folks do not care. Basketball is over in 48 minutes…2 hours of actual time. Football is a 3:15 exercise and you notice they keep interest high by playing daylight games except the Monday and Thursday night spectacles.
Baseball will keep losing potential fans if the fans tune out before the magic happens.
As always, your comments are welcomed!
Gary's Word 