The prevailing thought back then was that there’d be some kind of government-backed program that would help investors purchase large numbers of repossessed homes that would then be converted to rental properties.

The idea seems to capitalize on a couple of ideas:

1. Selling bulk properties, as many as 500 at a time, some reports have said, will help get foreclosed properties off the market faster. The discussions to do this are among the first that address the REO and vacant-homes problem with more than a nickel-and-dime answer.

2. Converting REO to rentals addresses the demand for affordable rental housing. As the homeownership rate nationwide has dipped, the demand for rentals has increased. And so have rental rates.

Some estimates reveal that the agencies have as many as 250,000 homes in their possession across the country, and with the back-log problems that slowed foreclosure processes in 2011 likely to gum up the works less this year, doing something with the quarter-million homes already on the market seems important.

And it seems to be closer to coming to fruition, as well. CNBC reported that, according to unnamed sources, the White House is close to announcing the pilot program designed to deal with this inventory of REO. According to the CNBC report, details being ironed out include the potential market impact, how the government and its agencies can partner with private investors and what the operational challenges will be in managing big groups of homes that have become recently converted rental properties.

A program, if done correctly, could alleviate both some short-term and long-term concerns with real estate markets. Some areas that have been hard hit by vacant and blighted homes could benefit from such homes being sold and rented out. That would be an immediate impact.

Longer-term relief might be provided in the form of a program in place to deal with more foreclosures as they come on the market. If another 250,000 homes are destined to be repossessed this year, for example, it’s not a bad idea to have something already in place to help sell these properties.

But there could be bigger benefits to local economies, too. As investors pool money to purchase homes in bulk, companies are likely to form and jobs be created. Property management is going to be a need if homes are being turned into rentals by the hundreds, and contractors will be busy fixing homes up to get them ready for rental occupants.

Personally, I think it’s a great concept. I think the mindset of investors – and I’m talking about institutional investors here – is that real estate is a great buy right now. But what hedge fund manager wants the headache of setting up management of hundreds of rental properties? Providing a government-backed way to partner everybody – private investors and institutional investors – isn’t a bad way to get the money out on the table. And there is money waiting to be spent on real estate.

But there are some potential challenges. For one, private investors are going to want to feel no more exposed than anybody else in the game when it comes to risk. These aren’t all going to be cash deals, and the private investors are going to have to feel as though whatever financing might be provided will not leave them alone holding the bag. The structure is going to have to be more of a true partnership than one of banks handing out money because the government will bail them out if something goes wrong. We all know how that turns out.

The other major challenge, not to sound cynical, is that is IS a government-backed idea. That means there will be politics and slow-moving bureaucratic issues to deal with; that’s almost guaranteed.

But if agencies’ ambition is at least somewhat matched by their execution (when does that ever happen?), then it’s something to perhaps get excited about.

For regular buyers, they were a way to start homeownership at price usually a little cheaper than a single-family home and without all the maintenance responsibilities. But for investors, monthly maintenance fees and the fact that condos traditionally appreciate less than single-family homes made them unattractive.

Times, though, may be a-changing.

In 2009, the Federal Housing Authority altered some of its rules regarding condominiums, attempting to reduce its exposure to risky home loans. One of the changes involved stricter standards for mortgages on condos.

The tightening had to do with condo associations’ reserve accounts as well as its members’ standing in regard to dues. Many condos lost their FHA certification with the new rules, which meant that the 3.5-percent down payments and low interest rates that FHA loans normally afford were unavailable to buyers.

With FHA loans most common among first-time homebuyers, that put a dent in the buyers market for condos, which, in turn, has led to a bigger price drop for condos than single-family homes in many areas. Overbuilding during the real estate boom years, too, has led to a big imbalance of supply vs. demand.

This has led to great buys for first-time homebuyers who can swing larger down payments, or those who can find condos still certified for FHA loans, but it also means that condominiums are more attractive to investors.

Not to flippers, mind you, who have traditionally been the investors who go the condo route, but also to income investors who can rent the units out for long-term cash flow. With prices so low in many areas, and with interest rates very low, maintenance fees no longer eat up all the cash flow. In fact, the maintenance of the units by associations often make things easier.

Of course, not all condo associations allow rental of units. But those that do represent an interesting possibility for investors. With the demand for rentals up, and prospective condo purchasers shut out by the FHA ineligibility, there could be great cash flow opportunities.

Recently, a New York development company that built a new apartment building converted what were supposed to be 20 luxury condos —on the floors above the apartments — to rentals also, pointing to the fact that the rental demand for such units was far above the demand for purchasing. In other words, they decided they could make more money renting the units over the years than selling them.

Of course, every situation is different. If you’re thinking about purchasing a condo, whether as a primary residence, vacation home or investment, many details have to be analyzed. One big one now is the finances of the association.

If an association has lost its FHA certification, why? Is it a lack of reserve funds? And if so, how far off are they? Is it the percentage of unit owners behind in dues? If so, how far behind? Are there plans to re-apply for certification?

The answers to those questions will help you determine whether a condo purchase is attractive. They’re different questions for today’s market, but today’s market can make some condos much better buys than in years past.

What if your goal was to make 2012 your best year ever?

What if, instead of promising yourself you’ll stop snacking between meals, your resolution was to change your mindset? Your new mindset would be making this year your best.

It’s true that smaller, attainable goals can add up to big changes, but big goals are sometimes necessary, too. For example, with the mindset of making 2012 your best year ever, your big goal will help the little goals fall into place. With the overall goal of making 2012 the best, you could improve your life in so many areas:

• Your career or business

• Your family

• Your finances

• Your health and fitness

• Your education

• Your leisure-time activities

You’ve no doubt heard the old phrase “Opportunity knocks only once.” I recently read a column, I forget where, that said that notion is complete nonsense. And the more you think about it, the more you will realize it IS nonsense.

Opportunity knocks all the time. But it takes the right mindset to realize that.

Every good idea you have is an opportunity. Every project you take on at work is an opportunity. Every trip to the gym, every book you read, every conversation you have with your child – they’re all opportunities. But most people need to practice seeing things that way. I think if you open yourself up to the idea that opportunity is all around, you will see opportunities that maybe you haven’t yet.

And setting the bar high on 2012 – “best year ever” – is a great way to start. That kind of mindset almost forces you to have an open mind when it comes to opportunities. That’s the kind of big goal that REQUIRES you to start noticing opportunities. If you want to spend more time with family and friends, or if you want to significantly increase your income, get in shape – whatever – you are going to have to first recognize opportunities, then capitalize on opportunities.

The Best Year Ever mindset is ambitious. It’s BIG. But if you want real change in your life, that’s what you need. There’s another old saying: “The only way to get what you’ve never had is to do the things you’ve never done.” Chances are, you’ve lost weight before, quit smoking or watched less TV. You’ve done those things, and you have what you have.

To have the best year ever, you’re going to have to do things you probably haven’t done. That’s a sometimes scary reality for a lot of people. But it being scary doesn’t make it any less a reality. It’s easier to accomplish, however, it you make yourself accountable. And by sort of putting yourself on the spot with your “Best Year Ever” goal, you are putting the kind of pressure on yourself that will be required.

In fact, it would probably be best to share your Best Year Ever goal, because when you tell other people that sort of thing, it REALLY makes you accountable. And being accountable to such a big goal will help you make better decisions. It will force you to see the opportunities so many people miss. It could push you to live life rather than sleepwalking through it day to day.

It’s true that little, attainable goals can add up to big change over time. But sometimes, it’s that one BIG goal that kind of forces you to change all the little things so that they do add up.

So think big for 2012. Think “Best Year Ever.”

There have been so many things that will make 2011 memorable – big things, like the deaths of Osama bin Laden and Steve Jobs, and seemingly small things, like the debt-ceiling mess, that were more significant than we might have thought at the time.

But I think this will go down in memories as, well, one strange year.

The nation was gripped by the trial of a young woman many people thought killed her own child, and she went unconvicted. We had a presidential candidate with a tax plan based on the number 9, and whose accusers of sexual impropriety numbered at least five, leading to him abandoning the race.

The year 2011 is the one we will remember as the first time we started hearing about “the 1%.” Mostly, we have the Occupy Wall Street movement to thank for that, and though there is no clear goal the OWS people are trying to achieve – other than gripe about rich people – we’ll remember that somehow the “occupy” motive spread, to logical destinations such as Washington D.C. and head-scratchers, like Oakland, Calif.

It will be the year we remember as one when whole countries (Greece) and continents (Europe) looked as if they might go belly-up. Stock markets jerked us up and down all year as the world watched governments try to deal with debts and deficits, the Dow Jones Index alone moving along a 20-percent range of highs and lows.

It was a year marked by civil war in the Middle East, with Syria, Egypt and Liby experiencing major unrest, regimes falling and dictators dying. It was the year of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. Closer to home and emotionally painful were the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the almost-unbelievable Jerry Sandusk-Penn State scandal.

We had the final space shuttle landing, an Amish beard-cutting spree, a U.S. credit downgrade and a phone-hacking debacle at News Corp. Gas and food prices soared, hitting American famililies right in the checkbook, as IPOs made billionaires out of internet geeks.

It was a year when Kim Kardashian’s scam marriage and a Royal wedding made headlines for weeks, and Netflix announces a pricing change that outraged people. Meanwhile, a straight-faced U.S. congress passed a version of budget bill that labels pizza a vegetable in children’s school lunches, and no one seems to care that it’s a blatant insult to our common sense.

It’s been a topsy-turvy year indeed…….And we survived it.

Things appeared bleak at times. Financial markets and inflation scared us. Natural disasters and the idea of radical government shifts in faraway parts of the world made us wonder in awe. Stories of violence and corruption are what made it onto our plates as part of our every day digestion of news.

But you’re still here. I’m still here. We have made it through the topsy-turvy in one piece. Hopefully, you have your health, your family and your friends. Those are the things that are important – more so than the money, politics, scandals and gossip that get too much of our attention too much of the time.

If there’s a lesson to take from 2011, it’s that when all the topsy-turvy and distractions are over and we finally raise our heads, the things that are most important are largely unchanged. The noise around us shouldn’t change who we are, and it certainly can’t change those things and those people important to us. That’s what survives, no matter how up-and-down or round-and-round the year has been.

Now let’s welcome 2012, and let’s remember, as we make our way through it, that after 2011, we will survive any amount of topsy turvy it throws at us!

The buyers were a relatively young couple, looking to buy their first home together, although they owned a small condo the young man had purchased a few years ago. By the other agent’s account, they are excited to be spending the holidays in their first home. I believe that homeownership is still very much a part of the American dream, and hearing about this couple in their own home for the holidays reinforces it for me.

The agent told me something else that his clients shared with him: “They know that in a normal market, they probably wouldn’t have been able to swing it.”

They bought the home for about 15 percent less than what it had sold for in 2004, he said, but that purchase price included a nice chunk of change that the seller put toward their down payment and closing costs. Everybody ended up happy, but the truth is that without a motivated seller, they might not be enjoying this home for the holidays.

Motivated sellers, of course, are more plenty now than they were, say, four or five years ago – one factor in the current real estate climate that helped the buyers. Actually, another factor helped, too.

The agent told me that this particular home was in the same neighborhood as another home the buyers absolutely fell in love with. The first home, which they considered their dream home, was sold on the day they attempted to put their offer in. They were a little down about that, but when the agent showed them a similar home in the same neighborhood, they jumped on it and their offer was accepted.

They are glad they did, and the situation underscores another aspect of today’s market: With the inventory of homes for sale and the choices available to buyers, it’s not that difficult to find more than one that you love.

It made me think that in addition to affordable purchase prices and low interest rates, the number of quality properties on the market AND the number of motivated sellers can be counted as reasons buyers have it so good right now.

The deal also illustrates some negatives about the market.

The seller, as it turns out, came off his listing price AND agreed to many concessions, including leaving an expensive pool table and hot tub, because these particular buyers were prequalified, had some down payment money and steady incomes. In fact, the agent said these buyers were the only clients he was currently showing houses to who could qualify for this particular home.

Things got a little dicey, however, because despite having it on the market for months, the couple couldn’t sell that condo. Had the seller not been so flexible in the deal, they might not have qualified because of the mortgage on the unsold condo. As it turns out, they decided to rent it and have a signed lease that will provide some income until they do sell it.

That shows a few things about the current market. First, that there are probably more affordable, quality homes out their than there are qualified buyers, probably due to the banks’ stricter lending standards of today. And second, it shows that if you DO happen to be a qualified buyer, you’re practically golden.

But it also shows what sometimes becomes a snag – you had a motivated seller, very qualified buyers, but the purchase was touch-and-go for a while because the couple – considered “move-up” buyers – had a home they were having difficulty selling.

I like to point out that “move-up” buyers who feel like they are taking a loss on a house they sell for less than they paid can take some comfort in the fact that they are also likely buying MORE house for much less than they would have paid in the past. However, sometimes if the buyers’ current house can’t sell, the math just doesn’t work out.

Again, I am glad that this particular sale seemed to make for happier holidays for all parties involved. It does, however – in one deal – show you many of the factors affecting the current real estate climate.

It was one of those fancy, cast-aluminum, heavy-duty patio sets. It cost them upwards of $2,000, which was — as I said — a little remarkable because this was a couple who were typically very money-conscious. Not cheap, but frugal, sensible folks. For them to spend that kind of money on patio furniture seemed out of character.

As it turned out, this expensive patio furniture was the fourth or fifth set they’d purchased in a span of about as many years. They had one table, with a glass top, shatter. They had another one rust so badly that a leg actually broke off. Vinyl-backed chairs had weathered and torn, and fabric chairs had gotten holes from cinders that had escaped their fire pit.

All told, they guessed they had spent nearly $2,000 — the same as their new set — and all they had left to show for it were some odds-and-ends pieces that had somehow survived.

Since their “splurge” on the $2,000 set, which can’t rust, rip or burn, they haven’t spent another dime on patio furniture. And they don’t plan to for years.

“Great,” you say, “another ‘you-get-what-you-pay-for’ lesson.” And, true, it is. And it’s an easy-to-see one, too, which is why I shared it.

Unfortunately, it’s becoming harder and harder to see clear-cut, you-get-what-you-pay for deals.

Just in the real estate game alone, with foreclosures and short sales and builders cutting prices (and corners, unfortunately), there has never been a more confusing time when it comes to determining whether you get what you pay for. I’ve looked at expensive homes that were underpriced steals, and I’ve seen ridiculously inexpensive homes that I wouldn’t take off somebody’s hands if they paid me.

Actually, somebody I know just bought a builder’s model home, and it didn’t take a home inspector to realize that although the price was low, it was no deal. I won’t get into details, so as not to offend any home builders (or the buyers if they’re reading this!), but their fixation on price limited their ability to see value.

There are a lot of affordable homes out there, and they could have gotten more for their money. I would have told them that if they had asked me before buying.

But it’s not current state of the real estate market that’s the only problem. In the economy we’re in right now, people are encouraged to be smart with their money. Companies and their marketing departments know this, and they may be intentionally blurring the line between what’s a good value and what’s, well, just cheap.

With the holiday season upon us, it’s a good a time as any to examine whether we’re really getting what we pay for.

Retail vs. Outlet

One of the biggest bargains as seen by shoppers is outlet malls. Most of the stores are brands we know, what we think are offshoots of major retailers where we can take advantage of fantastic deals.

What you might not know, however, is that some outlet stores may just be regular retailers with stores at outlet malls. According to an article in the November issue of Consumer Reports, industry standards define an outlet mall as one in which at least half of the tenants are owner-occupied outlets. That means that half the stores can be regular retailers. What’s more, according to Consumer Reports, some outlet stores are locations of outlet companies, who might own the outlet mall rights to many brands. They might be mere partners with brands, and don’t necessarily sell products from brand manufacturers.

In the special report, Consumer Reports spent $2,000 buying products at various outlet stores, then subjected the purchased products to laboratory quality tests. Results were surprising.

Brooks Brothers, which has a major outlet presence, offers similar products at both its retail and outlet locations. Consumer Reports — which HEAVILY weighs price in its conclusions — compared several Brooks Brothers products from both retail locations and the outlet stores.

A pair of ribbed socks that were purchased for $18 at a retail location were actually determined to be a better deal than the $7.20 pair bought at an outlet. In other words, the nearly $11 difference in price wasn’t — in the testers’ opinion — worth the drop-off in quality.

On the flip side, a tie, which you might think would be of higher quality at a retail store, was determined to be a better buy at the outlet store (for $44.55) than at the retail store ($58.50).

Sometimes, the retail outlet had higher-quality materials; sometimes the retail store version did.

The lesson? Read the labels to find out whether what you think is a great deal really is. Also, since many outlet mall shopping trips require a drive, and since many retail stores don’t take returns from outlets, factor in time and travel expenses to determine if something is worth it, too.

Grocery Gotchas

If you’re planning on entertaining over the holiday season, you’re going to probably buy groceries. And places where you buy groceries are full of “bargains” that aren’t really bargains.

One of the biggest culprits when it comes to groceries involves buying in bulk at “warehouse” clubs. First, and most obvious, is the question of whether buying certain products in bulk makes sense.

Are you going to use that 10-pound bag of apples before some go bad? Is that 3-pound canister of almonds going to be consumed before any get stale? The items don’t go bad make sense to buy in bulk. But wasted food is wasted money.

Unfortunately, size doesn’t matter only with fresh food. When you compare prices at the grocery store to a bulk “club” store, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples (pun intended).

For example, a 24-count box of granola bars might be less than double the 12-count box at your grocery store, but be sure to read the label to ensure the serving size is the same. If you’re getting an ounce less per bar, for example, you could be getting ripped off.

In the Electronics Department

There are enough gadget-minded folks out there for the consumer electronics industry to love this time of year. That means those consumers have to be on the lookout this time of year.

One of the biggest money-wasters when it comes to electronics is people’s assumption that if they miss those highly publicized Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, they missed out on the best price. This is not the case.

In fact, prices of consumer electronics fluctuate greatly. Yes, prices on some items might go up after you missed out on Black Friday because you were sleeping off that turkey dinner, but the week after that, they might go back down.

And some categories are more volatile than others. Televisions for example, especially larger ones, tend to go up and down more than cameras. Laptop computers, pricing studies have shown, tend to be somewhere in the middle when it comes to price volatility.

Also, especially at big-box retailers, you can haggle. Employees might not be able give you the Black Friday price on that store’s intentional loss-leaders, but they’ll negotiate. They will especially price-match, so arm yourself with prices.

You DO get what you pay for, whether its patio furniture, a home or gifts and food for the holidays. I can always help you with a home, but hopefully this will help you with some other things, too!

This, folks, is what you get when you coddle people.

There, I said it. What I’m referring to is the Occupy Wall Street (and wherever else is has evolved to) movement.

Forgive me if you are part of this movement. I don’t mean to insult you personally. But the movement as a whole, to me, has a scatter-brained, ununified message that goes something like “We don’t know what we want, but we want you to give it to us RIGHT NOW!”

As fringe-of-culture movements and their messages go, OWS is not destined for the Movements Hall of Fame. It’s light years behind the civil rights and anti-war movements of 40, 50 years ago, and it’s nowhere near as respectable as the suffrage movements that came decades before.

You know why? Not just because the kids who marched and shouted and made signs and burned bras had a more meaningful, clearly stated message to convey. It’s also because they walked to school, did chores, played outside and fought their own battles while growing up. They weren’t coddled.

You see the younger participants in the OWS movement on TV and read their inane signs, and you can’t help but think they’re spoiled college kids. “Legalize pot.” “Pay off my student loans.” “Create me a job.”

Those are self-entitled, self-indulgent and self-delusional messages. If that’s what you want to call them – again, there really doesn’t seem to be more of a message beyond “We hate the 1%.”

I have been thinking about this for a while, since I saw a YouTube video of a college kid protesting things about which he had absolutely no idea. He was holding a sign that said “Throw me a bone; pay my tuition,” and rambling on about corporate tax rates and other statistics. When pressed by the guy filming the video to explain why he wanted the 1% percent to pay for his college, after a bunch of mumbling and stumbling he finally got right to it…

“Because that’s what I want.”

That’s the message of the OWS movement. And I think it exists not just because this generation – Millienials or Generation Z or whatever we’re on now – is the first generation with some kind of beef with their lot in life and no tools whatsoever to deal with it.

They’re the first generation of not keeping score during little league games, the “everybody’s a winner” generation. They’re the product of moms and dads who don’t spank, of parents that become chaffuers at a momen’t notice. They’re the video game players, not the dodgeball players who learn a lot from the “only the strong survive” lessons only the rougher kids games impart.

They’re the generation who’s never had to wade through a card catalog at the library or do actual, stick-your-nose-in-an-encyclopedia research. They’re the “give-it-to-me instantly” generation of emails, texts and internet searches.

They’re the generation that got paid for what previous generations called “chores” and did without pay – that is, if this generation even had chores. They’re the generation that spawned all this attention on bullying – which I’m not saying is right – but bullying has existed forever and somehow kids of the past survived.

“Spare the rod and spoil the child,” the old saying goes. And the new saying should go something like “Spare the rod and your kid will be on TV with a sign that says ‘Pay my tuition.’”

This is what happens when you coddle. Nobody has any idea how to handle adversity. Everybody has a grudge against those who achieve. The “where’s mine,” entitled attitude has replaced the determintion and self-awareness of previous generations.

I’m not saying there aren’t raw deals out there or that Wall Street is full of a bunch of saints. There are plenty of things that aren’t right with the economy, society, government, whatever right now. But there’s got to be better ideas how individuals can change that, or at least how they can improve their own situation. Standing there with a stupid sign isn’t going to get it done.

But hey, when this whole thing’s over, maybe you’ll get your medal for participating.

He had never bought a Kindle, and he decided he finally wanted an e-reader. That seemed to be about the only thing he could decide.

Amazon just came out with a new Kindle called the Fire. It’s a touch-pad e-reader, about the same size as the old Kindles, but it’s all-color and has a wi-fi connection for apps, web browsing, etc. When my client read about this new gadget, he decided he was going to finally buy one.

But then the Black Friday sales came, he told me, and several makers of computer tablets dropped their prices much lower – even the iPad, which never seems to go on sale. So now he had a decision to make, he said – plunk the $200 down for the new Kindle Fire, or spend a little more and buy one of the tablets that had come down in price.

I guess the new Kindle can do more than the old Kindles do, but other tablets have more functionality, closer to computers than e-readers. And this guy couldn’t decide what to do.

He questioned whether he would use a new gadget as anything more than a reader. He wondered if spending $50 more for a cheap tablet was better than spending $100 more for a cheap tablet. He wondered if prices would go back down after the holiday season, if he could get more for his money if he waited.

It reminded me of the decisions some people face when they’re trying to buy a house. That is more understandable to me than spending all this energy on a decision over a couple hundred bucks.

I’m not entirely sure what makes some people so indecisive and others extremely decisive. I know there are decisions in life that represent real forks in the road and require thorough analysis. There are other decisions, though, that shouldn’t be as painfully tedious as people make them.

Do you want pepperoni or sausage on your pizza? Do you want to see the comedy or or the action movie? Do you want carpeting or hardwood in your living room?

These decisions – like buying a Kindle – are not life-altering decisions. They might require thought, yes, but agonizing over something that, ultimately, is insignificant causes stress that’s just wasted energy.

True, every decision comes with a consequence. And making rash, hasty choices is sometimes foolish. I wouldn’t tell you to flip a coin if you’re trying to decide between a 4-bedroom home or a 3-bedroom, for example. But I believe in the saying “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” and sweating over white or wheat toast at breakfast is silly.

And while every decision comes with a consequence, indecision has its consequences, too. I’ve had clients who are unable to decide between two houses end up losing them both to other buyers because by the time they thought they knew what they wanted, somebody else snatched up the deal. So the indecision winds up being a bigger consequence than whatever the consequences of an actual decision would have been.

The reason people are indecisive is fear. More specifically, it’s fear of being wrong. The thing is, though, we’ve all been wrong before. We will all be wrong again. Fear of making the wrong decision is a horrible excuse for instead simply making no decision.

I’m all for traditional tools people use to make decisions. Put a list of “pros” and “cons” side by side on a sheet of paper. Ask your friends or family for their opinions. Sleep on it. But, for goodness sake, at some point you must take ownership of the decision. If you think about it, I bet the most successful people you know are some of the most decisive people you know.

That’s not a knock on indecisive people, necessarily. I am not always as decisive as I want to be, and when I struggle with a decision, it is not a comfortable feeling. And I actually know a few very successful people who are also very indecisive. I know far fewer decisive people, however, who are unsuccessful.

It could be a chicken-and-egg question: Does being more successful in general help people be confident enough to be decisive? Or does being decisive help one become more successful?

Either way, you can either make it a goal to be more decisive or you can choose to try to let decisions be made for you.

That decision must be yours.

“When somebody asks me if I see my cup as half-full or I see it as half-empty, I tell them I’m thankful that I have a cup.”

See, I am one who sometimes loses sight of things to be thankful for. I am getting better at it, but being busy and committed to all the things I do, it’s almost as if I am distracted from being thankful for all the things I have, all the time.

Most people might assume that optimists – the glass-is-half-full folks, like myself – are probably quicker to feel grateful. Optimists are naturally more prone to believing things are going to be OK, and that belief is probably more in tune with being thankful for things than pessimists might be. Pessimists, inclined to believe that everything is going to turn out not-so-good, might logically feel there is less about which to be thankful.

But no matter how well or how badly you might think things are, you can always be grateful just to have a cup. It would seem that if you have a cup, you will always have a chance to fill it. Not everybody has that.

If you have food on the table, a roof over your head, family and friends around you and/or your health, you have plenty more than some others. These are the kinds of things we take for granted, and maybe, say, you’re looking at your home or your relationships as a half-empty cup, there are a ton of people who would be glad to have what you have. Thinking this way is humbling, but it’s also necessary from time to time.

I also think that if you are not grateful for the things you have, you won’t be successful in ever having more things that you want. There’s no accomplishment, no high level of success that can be achieved without motivation, and if you’re not thankful for the blessings you already have, you’re going to be lacking motivation in pursuing additional blessings.

I really believe that taking time to feel real gratitude for things makes you more at peace with where you are in life, and it makes you more connected to your goals in the future. Like I said, sometimes it’s hard for me to do, and I’m sure it is for others, too. Not because we’re ungrateful people, but because we’re going through life at such a fast pace that we naturally feel more thanks when things slow down.

You know the cure for that? Slow things down more often. I love it when somebody forces me to slow down by telling me when I sound like I’m complaining. When I think I have it bad, there always seems to be somebody around me who reminds me that things aren’t bad. This is usually the slow-down I need to starting being thankful for the things I have.

I also work on being thankful for the challenges I have. Challenges and tough times are the things that allow us to learn and grow. Without some of the challenging times we’ve been through in our past, we wouldn’t be the people we are today. Be thankful for the good times and what seem like the bad.

Look at how people who seemingly have no challenges. Kids who grow up rich, then tank as adults because they’ve never dealt with adversity. Spoiled millionaire athletes who are jerks because everything seems to go their way. Part of who you are and how you handle yourself today is due to having been through times of challenge in your past. Be thankful for them, and be thankful for the ones you’re going to face.

I don’t know whether you’re a half-full or half-empty type person. But I do know that you have a cup. As this holiday season kicks into high gear, starting with Thanksgiving, try to be thankful for at least your cup.

Happy Thanksgiving.

But, as bad as things may seem, there is always hope. And some investors are using the current market conditions to turn lemons into lemonade.

The market has shifted from an investment in appreciation to an investment in income. Prices aren’t where we’d like them to be if we bought homes four or five years ago, but where they’re at now provides cash flow.

I know of one investor who bought a foreclosure and fixed it up for a total of $48,000 — all inside his self-directed IRA. Four years or so ago, his IRA would have had to shell out over $100,000 for the same house. He might not have done if for that price because that’s risking more of his retirement money.

He tried to sell the house at first, asking $59,000 for it, a very fair price, but was unable to sell quickly. So he decided to rent it. He’s making about $900 a month in cash flow.

With the $48,000 invested, that’s an annual return of 22%, plus he keeps the asset. In five years, he will have earned his money back AND should be able to sell the house for more than he paid.

THAT’s not a bad retirement plan!

Another investor I know bought two properties in 2006 and is “underwater” with both of them, owing more in loans than they are worth. But both homes were bought with high-interest, adjustable-rate mortgages back then. Those two 5-year ARMs have reset to today’s lower rates, dropping the interest from 8 or 9% to less than 4%. The result is a cash flow jump of more than $900 a month for this investor.

Getting paid $900 more a month in cash flow helps take the sting out of losing money — on paper only, remember this! — with the drop in value of the home. But that cash flow wasn’t enough for this investor. He didn’t want to pay down principal on homes he already was underwater on, so he decided to use the cash flow the houses were providing to earn more income.

He opened a separate online securities-trading account that he only uses for the extra cash flow, buys stocks, and sells covered calls on the stocks.

A covered call occurs when you sell, for a premium, options to purchase stocks at a set price in the future. For example, you could buy 100 shares of stock for $20 a share, sell an option on those shares at $21 a share and charge $300 for the option. If the share price hasn’t hit the $21 threshold for you to sell the stock, the option expires and you keep the stock and the $300. It’s a way to reduce risk while continuing to re-invest money for income. This particular investor is using the new-found cash flow from his underwater homes to generate a lot more income than if he just stuck the money in a bank.

Yet another investor I know borrowed money from his 401k to pay off a second mortgage on one of his properties, which gave him enough equity to refinance the whole thing at a much lower rate. He’s able to pay his 401k back $500 per month and still have $300 per month of additional cash flow.

You see, it’s not always the market that determines success, but how you play the market.

These moves outlined above might not be for everybody, and you should talk to a financial planning professional or accountant before putting any of them into action, but I wanted to share with you a few examples of real estate investors who have been proactive in a market that turned sour.

They’ve turned lemons into lemonade.