Hello Tami and All, Tom From Canada Here...

Posted: 16 Apr 2008 04:47 PM CDT Image (Inland Empirical) - Teeth Whitening in a Mall Every time I travel down from Toronto to the U.S. I pick up a new reason why the U.S. economy rocks. This time I was in Nashville, Tennessee, for a Dan Kennedy marketing whiz bang super conference and the mall next door had the best shopping I've ever seen. Now there's 2 things you should know about me: 1. I hate shopping. 2. I hate malls. Big time. But here's what had me in awe and made me actually want to go back several times during our stay. There were tons of people in there shopping. There were tons of people get massages. There was a line-up at the Tony Roma's rib joint. There were people walking around with bags of freshly purchased stuff in their hands. There were boats rolling out of the Bass Pro Shop. There was money flying every where it seemed. There was a guy lying down in the middle of the mall who had paid to have his teeth whitened and some laser beam thingy was stuck in his mouth. And there was even a lady PAYING good money to breath in oxygen from a tank. Just think, last time I checked you could get a whiff of the stuff for free but someone was paying to have little hoses stuck up her nose. Nuts, but I almost paid to do it myself (just for the photo opp I swear!). So why I am sharing this with you? Because to a big city Canadian (the Toronto area has about 5 million people so don't get me started about how we're small time up here ok) this little town of Nashville seemed to be ignoring CNN. People were spending money like it was going out of style. From watching your news up in Canada we all believe you guys are hiding at home stashing cash under your mattresses. And then my wife runs into a Realtor who explains she can't keep up with business. She's dealing with a lot of foreclosures but she's busy with people snapping them up. Her bank can't keep up with her apparently. The next day I fly back home and turn on CNN. And I hear all the negative stuff the Lou Dubbs or Dobbs or whoever is spitting out and it seems like the sky is falling. But what I just witnessed doesn't match what I'm hearing coming from good old Lou's mouth. And then I got thinking....maybe my perspective, being from out of the country, is making this more clear to me. Why is the U.S. media opposed with broadcasting fear/doubt/uncertainty to you guys? And they're airwaves reach us so everyone up hear basically thinks things are falling apart in your neck of the woods. But then I flash back to my Nashville experience and it doesn't add up. Us Canucks are looking at the U.S. real estate like it's a blue light sale at K-mart (now I'm really dating myself). Now... I've been around long enough to know that spending a few hours in a mall doesn't give me a degree in macro economics. My father lost a lot of money on a flip during the heavy real estate crash and recession in the early 90's....so I've seen a few horror stories up close. But from my perspective there are obviously pockets in the U.S. where things have turned. And I'm sure their are communities that are still suffering. But to paint everything with the broad strokes that CNN seems to be using can be misleading. Real Estate is a game that is different community-by-community and street-by-street. You need to find the people in your neighborhood that are the local experts. This is the time people like Trump make big money! My money says he's out there buying right now, not selling. So the next the talking CNN heads get you dizzy about what is or isn't happening maybe it's time to start ignoring them and doing your own research. Time to look out for #1 by being your own news source. Hit the streets, find the investors in your area making money right now. Here's something I bet CNN doesn't report... Ready for it. It's good. Real good. I always hear how the Canadian economy is solid and moving along really well. Which it is. The new found hunger for oil in Alberta and corn in Saskatchewan is doing wonders for us up here. But you know what. Even while our economy is humming along very well do you know which country has a LOWER unemployment rate than us? Guess. The U.S. Funny eh? Bet CNN isn't reporting that little gem. From my understanding the rates are calculated with slight differences but it's definitely an interesting little note, don't ya think? Amazing how interesting details are often ignored. If you guys wait too long to figure this out all your neighbors will be Canadians who picked up some great deals on prime real estate. And trust me, you don't want to be surrounded by us all day...you'll have to listen as we explain how we invented the telephone, baseball, basketball and hockey...and how our Canadian Loonie (dollar) is on par with your buck. Not fun I'm sure. Is it perfect smooth sailing ahead, no, never has been, never will be. Does the U.S. have to adjust to a rapidly changing global economy, yes. Is this the time to pick up some good U.S. real estate investments? My magic 8 ball says "affirmative". Will the masses follow this advice? No. More reason for you to do your homework and plow ahead. Until next time... Tom Karadza Income for Life Toronto