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I just finished reading, Now, Discover your strengths, and can say that this is a must read for all those who manage people. There is a special website and code on the back of the book cover that will allow you to take a simple test to discover your strengths, and then how to hone and sharpen those strengths. The basic premise is that we need to focus and continually improve the strengths, not focus on how to improve a persons weaknesses. The great benefit I found is that it gives you the different types of profiles and how to manage to those people.

When my wife and I were first married we had to rent a small one bedroom apartment since we were just out of college and starting our careers. We have since bought and sold a few homes and now are settling in a new home with some great features. We have relatives that are just recently married and are thinking about renting or buying a new home. I explained that if they can afford the house payment then buying is much better than renting. With buying your home you are building up equity where as renting your money accrues towards nothing. There are various tax benefits with purchasing your own home as well. I told them to compare mortgages and find out much home that they could comfortably afford and then make their decision on how much they would have to pay in rent. Home ownership is something that cannot be taken lightly and must be entered into with a lot of research and due diligence. Many first time home buyers got sucked into sub-prime loans that were short term low interest payments and then escalated after a few years. This has put a lot of people in serious financial troubles and helped them to loose their home. My recommendation is to always work with your local bank as they are more familiar with the housing market and can help you better plan your budget without over extending your cash flow.
The real estate is up and down in various markets depending on what reports you read. In the
Asheville real estate market homes seem to be holding their value as the community is gaining in popularity thanks in part to it’s clean environment and location to major cities. Even in other southern areas like the Charlotte real estate market you can find some great investment deals in real estate that would provide a great area to raise a family and provide access to many outdoor activities as well big city living. When hunting for home make sure that you look for a buyers agent as they will be focused on helping you find the right home and not the one that they have on the market that they are trying to sell.