Will we see the start of another housing collapse before the end of 2010?  That is what a number of top economists are beginning to fear.  The truth is that there are some very troubling signs in the housing numbers.  The massive tax credit that the U.S. government was offering to home buyers helped prop up the housing market for quite a while, but now that the tax credit has expired, many real estate professionals are bracing for the worst.  The reality is that foreclosures continue to set all-time records, the mortgage industry is a complete mess and another massive wave of adjustable rate mortgages is scheduled to reset in 2011 and 2012.  As the U.S. economy continues to falter, and as the nation starts to deal with the economic fallout from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, many are now wondering how in the world Americans are going to be able to afford to purchase millions of these homes which are still massively overpriced.  The American Dream is still way too expensive for the vast majority of Americans.  So are there signs that housing prices in the U.S. could be on the verge of another major decline? (Read More.....)

If someone came up to you and asked you what you own, what would you say?  It may seem like an obvious question, but it is actually a lot more complicated than you might think.  We live in a very materialistic society.  In fact, a large percentage of Americans today define their lives by what they "own", and a large percentage of Americans consider "living the American Dream" to be about accumulating a house, several cars and a massive pile of possessions.  But what does it mean to "own" something anyway?  Does it mean to have something in your possession?  Well, if that was the case then someone leasing a car for three years could be considered the owner.  But that obviously is not the case.  Does "owning" something mean that nobody can legally take that thing away from you?  Well, if that is the case then perhaps we all "own" a lot less than we think we do.  (Read More.....)