As a sales person, I'm not supposed to define my political affiliation for fear of scaring off folks that may not believe in the same things that I do. So, I'm about to commit a cardinal sales mistake. I hope you all that know and love me don't hold this against me.

I have been a Californian for most of my life and for the most part didn't really care what the our great state's government did or does, however I am now angry enough to speak out against some of the pure stupidity I continue to see.

I truly believe that the less our government intrudes into my life the better. So, you could describe me as a conservative libertarian with republican leanings. With that said, I have reason to believe that our current state government has now gotten to the stage where it is unwieldy and acting for it's own preservation rather than for my or anyone's best interests.

It's time for a lot of reform.

California is currently ranked 47th out of 50 for states that are friendly to business. Every year our legislature comes up with new diabolical plans to make doing business in this great state more difficult and more costly.

There is California Workers Compensation and Disability (CWCD). Every year our friendly legislature ads more fees and requirements to this program making it even more expensive to hire employees. Ever wonder why most of California's manufacturing jobs are moving to other states? Well, this is one of the reasons. I'm not irritated that California has this. It's a good thing. I just ask that the legislature weighs the effects of what is currently required and how much they charge against what will be lost. Maybe if they asked the employers how these requirements and fees will affect them, they would have a better idea of how many jobs would be lost.

Of course, there is my favorite stupidity, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. I'm all for a clean environment. I did grow up in Los Angeles with those hot August days where the mountains were clouded in a brown cloud of smog. But think about it. How is California going to clean up it's act if no one else is? I don't see any other state doing this? Why? Because it's an economy killer. 

We as a society rely on hydocarbons as our primary fuel source which mean we produce CO2 in mass quantities.  It looks like we will be doing this for sometime to come. Wouldn't it be better for us to look for solutions to get us off hydocarbon energy? We are California where the computer was incubated among other inventive technologies.

So, answer me this? Why is the California Air Resources Board (CARB) doing everything in it's power to make it even more difficult for us to do business here. When I talk to my friends in the already decimated construction industry, they tell me that they are now considering taking their trucks and moving to another state or closing all together. They can't afford to do business here anymore. Those that are still in business are laying off workers or putting their employees on part time so they can afford to make the costly modifications to their heavy equipment to meet CARB's standards. 

Large manufacturing operations are also looking at the cost to adhere to what CARB is requiring and adding into it what is required for the CWCD and deciding that it's cheaper to pack it in and move to another state.

I don't know what you think about all of this but to me this means that our state government has made it TOO expensive to do business here. In a state that has around 20% of it's population under employed. This all sounds pretty moronic to me.

I think our legislature has way too much time on its hands. As they say, idle hands are the devil's tools. In order to make it look like they are doing something, they are making laws that sound good but are totally impractical. 

I am all for a part time legislature. Maybe if we cut their hours in half, they will be concentrating on what is really good for the state rather than what sounds good for reelection. 

There it is, the big question. The one every kid yells from the back seat of the car, "Are we there yet?" Funny thing...this is the exact questions my clients are asking me today as we go out looking for a home to buy. Here is the answer you have all been waiting for...wait for it...wait for it....I don't know and anyone that tells you they do is full of (How did my son put it? Oh Yeah!) POOPIE.

The market is extremely volatile right now and  depending on the neighborhood you are looking in you could see price stability, price falling and in some cases price overbidding.

All of my clients keep asking the same question, "Is this the right time to buy?" "An emphatic, YES!" is my answer. Look at the facts, overall prices are lower than they have been for a long time. We may or may not have hit the bottom but if your planning on holding your property for more than 5 years. THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET BUY REAL ESTATE. 

The only issue you face is how to finance it. The banks are still very stingy with their money, so your going to need at least 10% down and a decent FICO score.

As a former Californian living in Colorado, I was surprised to hear someone complaining of a toxic mold problem.  Here?  In dry Colorado?  Though we usually think of this as a coastal phenomenon, you may be surprised to know you have company in dealing with it.