How to Keep Your Cool in a Hot Real Estate Market

Angelina Jolie Edges Jennifer Aniston as Top Halloween Hottie

When asked which Halloween costume would femmes like to don for October 31, the puffy-lipped and a bit scary Angelina Jolie edged out the striking all-American California girl Jennifer Aniston in a recent survey.
The poll was conducted online and shows America's passion for its Hollywood celebrities.
The survey polled nearly 500 residents of the United States and Canada reported a slight majority of females would rather dress up as Brad's current sultry starlet Angelina Jolie (35 percent) than the gorgeous girl-next-door Jennifer Aniston (nearly 31 percent).
Jolie had a bit of an advantage as her summer blockbuster movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith inspired two costume choices - one for Brad and one for Angelina.
-- Angie's Mrs. Smith (approximately $27): used slinky black dress, used black heels, used toy gun (use black tape to create "holster"). -- Mr. Smith (approximately $40): used black suit, used white shirt, used toy gun, used black shoes.
It's not clear what type of costume trick-or-treaters will don to look like Jennifer. There's definitely a focus on Hollywood this year," said Michelle Dutkewych, buyer for Seattle-based Savers, Inc. "With the remakes of many classic television shows and movies, we are seeing a resurgence of interest in nostalgic characters from both teenagers and adults.
Expect to see many Jessica Simpson inspired Daisy Duke shorts on October 31 as well.


How to Keep Your Cool in a Hot Real Estate Market
Forget floods, fires, and earthquakes. Right now the biggest threat to your home could be you.I'm absolutely aghast at how today's housing mania is pushing consumers to make all the wrong real estate moves. The popularity of interest-only loans, rampant condo speculation, and the tapping of equity with adjustable rate loans (often to pay for extravagant lifestyle upgrades or to pay off credit card balances) are signs America's homeowners are on the verge of losing their minds.If you don't want to end up in the poorhouse, you need to get real about your real estate.To be honest, though, you had plenty of dangerous encouragement from a very influential guy. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan practically rolled out the red carpet for you. His policy of keeping interest rates low has meant that mortgages have never been more affordable. And just a year ago he even pointed out that consumers have been better off using adjustable rate mortgages rather than fixed rate mortgages. You could make a good argument that the high priest of the U.S. financial markets provided mortgage lenders and consumers much of the rationale they needed to dive headfirst into adjustables.But Greenspan's timing left a lot to be desired. At about the same time he delivered that tribute to "adjustables," he was beginning his current campaign to raise interest rates. It's a path he's expected to keep for the foreseeable future. The Federal Funds rate, the interest rate directly controlled by Greenspan, is two percentage points higher than it was 15 months ago. Adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) are tied to that rate, so anyone who took out a one-year ARM or a HELOC in the last year or two had better be ready for a painful hike in their payments.Nowadays, with no apparent sense of the irony involved, Greenspan is leading the warning brigade about a U-turn in real estate. In late August he went on record with a prediction that housing would cool down, saying he expects "house turnover will decline from currently historic levels, while home price increases will slow, and prices could even decrease."It may not happen next month, this year, or even next year, but it will happen. And some regions will no doubt be hit harder than others. But wherever you live, you are downright delusional if you think there's no risk in leveraging yourself up to your ears with mortgage debt to buy a house (or refinance) with the expectation that it's going to be worth a ton more next year. And that goes double if you are using an adjustable rate loan to finance your real estate delusion. In all likelihood that rate is going to get adjusted up -- not down -- in the future.That said, I still believe real estate is one of your smartest long-term investments. But read that very carefully: I said long term. It's the notion that you can buy today and have a 20 percent profit six months from now that's insane. So is the notion that you can count on real estate value to rise every year without any hiccups.