How to Quit Smoking

 

How to Quit Smoking

Have you tried to quit smoking and failed, but never tried creative visualization? Are you ready to quit smoking now?

Scientists believe creative visualization works in the same way repeated thinking about an actual memory does – by wearing what amounts to a groove in the long-term-memory storage part of your brain. Athletes use the technique to imagine themselves in a game making all the right moves, as if they’re practicing their sport. Smokers who want to quit can “practice” in the same way to become non-smokers.

Your desire to quit must be genuine and internal.  First, find a comfortable spot. Block out all interruptions. Relax by breathing deeply, slowly and steadily in through your nose and out through your mouth. Close your eyes and clear your mind.

Visualize all the elements of smoking that disgust, distress, inconvenience and alienate you. Think in detail and use all your senses. Write them all down.

During each half-hour visualization session, dwell on one aspect. Use all your senses. Imagine what you must smell like to other people. How your mouth tastes. Immerse yourself in the revolting images until you can’t stand it anymore. Stay with this series of visualizations until you are convinced that smoking is disgusting.

Next picture yourself in an enjoyable social situation, one where you would normally smoke. The crucial point of the visualization is you’re not smoking, but you’re still having a wonderful time. Chances are, the first few times you try this, cigarettes will sneak back into the picture because smokers smoke even in their daydreams.

Next, picture yourself at an event where smoking is not allowed. Imagine you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not distracted by thoughts of when you get to leave and have a smoke. Play out these visualizations for as long and with as many variations as you like, as long as it’s pleasant and doesn’t include you smoking.

If you have physical withdrawal symptoms, see your doctor about any of the excellent smoking-cessation drugs and aids available. Given enough time and practice, your mind can achieve great things for you.

Eviction Moratorium ends tomorrow in Nevada

Eviction Moratorium ends tomorrow in Nevada

I can't believe it is already the last day of August, 2020. It has been 5 and a half months since Nevada shut down. I was at Las Vegas airport a few weeks ago and surprised how busy it was. I have been avoiding the strip to avoid covid-19, but I have seen videos and pictures with a lot of people there. Even though many hotels are opened now, MGM Resorts just announced that they are laying off 18,000 previously furloughed workers as of today since the casino industry continues to struggle to stay afloat during this pandemic. Las Vegas is still far from how it was before shut down.

The Guinn Center for Policy Priorities projects from 118,000 to 142,000 Nevada households could struggle to pay September rent, the majority in the Las Vegas area (Clark County), where it estimates 47% of households rent. And starting tomorrow when the eviction moratorium lifts, if you owe rent or back pay, your landlord can pursue a court order for evictions. They cannot be carried out by a landlord, only by a constable. To prevent a backup in the system, courts will grant 30 day stays on evictions to encourage mediation. (There is a program for free mediation help for tenants and landlords. Phone: 702-455-3898, Email: mediation.works@clarkcountynv.gov.)

Here is a video with great information on what to expect.

Nevada’s eviction moratorium lifts Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know.

And this is the website mentioned in the video for assistance: Civil Law Self-Help Center

If you are a landlord and need help selling your house, please feel free to contact me at 808-779-7700, Email: YokoRealEstate@gmail.com.

Stay safe! #VegasStrong

** UPDATE ** 8/31/2020 - Gov. Steve Sisolak announced that the state’s eviction moratorium will be extended an additional 45 days.

Find a Home in the Las Vegas area

New Construction Home Search in the Las Vegas area

What's my Home Worth? Selling a Home in the Las Vegas area

Do You Believe In Feng Shui?

 

Do You Believe In Feng Shui?

As a Japanese, I do believe in Feng Shui (pronounce Fung Shway). We write it the same 風水 "Wind Water", but we pronounce Fu-sui in Japanese. Since we are very close to China, we use their characters and our culture is very much influenced by Chinese. Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art and science that was developed some 3,000 years ago to help people balance the energies in the places they lived. The elements play an important part in everyday life, as in wind and water that bring good harvests, which in turn bring good health and prosperity. Your home is alive and needs to be arranged in such a way that the chi - Universal Energy can be maximized.

How can you use this Chinese art in your decorating? First, you’ll need a bagua (pronounced bah-gwah) map. This map includes the eight building blocks of life, according to the Chinese Taoist philosophy: health, love/marriage, wealth, career, wisdom/knowledge, reputation/fame, children/creativity and helpful people, plus the center area of chi.

To make a bagua map, look at the structure of your home. The ideal shape is a square or rectangle, but despair not if your home is L-shaped or U-shaped. On a large piece of paper, draw a map of your home, noting where doors and windows are. If your home is L-shaped or U-shaped, use dotted lines to fill out the square or rectangle. Now divide the square into nine parts, which will correspond to each of the nine bagua areas.

The baguas are determined by the location of the front door of your house, which is considered the baseline of your bagua map. As you look in the front door of your home, the area to your right is “helpful people.” The area to your left is “wisdom/knowledge,” and in between those two is your “career” bagua. The center three baguas, left to right, are “family,” “chi” and “children/creativity.” The upper left corner is “wealth,” upper middle is “fame/reputation” and the upper right is “marriage.” In other words, it looks like above picture. (https://astrostyle.com/feng-shui-bagua/)

I was also told not to place anything underneath your bed if you have a space. The good energy would not pass through your body and bad energy would be clogged when you lie there if you have things below your bed. 

If things are not going right or you feel heavy, try Feng Shui!

Find a Home in the Las Vegas area

New Construction Home Search in the Las Vegas area

What's my Home Worth? Selling a Home in the Las Vegas area

Happy Retirement - New Beginning

 Happy Retirement - New Beginning

What comes to your mind if you think about "Aging"? Getting wrinkles on your face? Not being able to run as fast? Having to see a doctor more often? Your dream retirement life? Perhaps living in Las Vegas where the sun shines 300 days a year?

People are living longer than ever before, so planning for the future includes more than just an investment portfolio. Retirees need to find meaningful, productive activities to fill out the last part of their lives, not just busywork.

Good healthy aging has several key components: Good physical health; possession of basic resources (housing, food); good social network; sense of purpose; and engaging in activities such as volunteering, working, and hobbies or interests. These components may seem obvious, but seniors need to assess the balance in their lives with the above in mind to uncover not just challenges, but opportunities as well.

Being aware of the challenges ahead is a good point from which to start. Amazingly, many people never give any thought to how they’ll spend their days once they stop working and the routine that they had for decades. The irony is that retirement often brings about identity crises – because work was how the retiree has defined him or herself for the last 40-odd years. Society defines us by our achievements, and what you do often becomes who you are. Retirement, therefore, may require a redefinition of self. If approached from a positive angle, i.e., the opportunity to reinvent oneself, retirement can be the most rewarding phase of life.

Make a Bucket List - I Want To Do (before I die…). The list helps to uncover past dreams, wishes and activities or interests they haven't pursued in a while. You’d be surprised at how difficult this can be, though, because people tend to think, “Well, I always wanted to skydive, but now I’m too old.” This is where thinking outside the box comes in, which often requires prompting.

What if you had the resources and energy to make your dreams come true? The point is to open up possibilities, even ones that seem “too young.” Movies need older extras. Skydiving can be done at any age with good health. Why not get a college degree now? It may take a little longer to learn that musical instrument, but one thing you have now is time. Forget about what is “expected” of older people, and follow your heart’s desire.

Retirement need not be viewed as the end. It should be the new beginning of your life!

Find a Home in the Las Vegas area

New Construction Home Search in the Las Vegas area

What's my Home Worth? Selling a Home in the Las Vegas area

How to Decide The Amount of Rent

 

How to Decide The Amount of Rent

You have a rental property in Las Vegas and not sure how much you should charge for rent? Property management companies can help you and offer you the following services as well;

- Place advertising for you

- Show the property

- Review applications, screen applicants, and conduct background checks

- Prepare lease documents 

However, if you want to do all by yourself, the best place to start is by look and check similar properties in your area for the range of prices to set for the rent amount.

Supply and demand are factors to consider. If you’re near a college campus for example, there is a constant demand for rentals. But even if your property is in a trendy or high-demand area, if your property is in disrepair, has maintenance issues, or lacks amenities, you can’t ask the same price as a well-maintained property.

Other concerns include your property features. Clubhouses, workout facilities, walking paths, tennis courts — all affect a renter’s decision. Square footage, floor plan, and even the view influence the rental rate.

Basic amenities like dishwashers, laundry facilities, fireplaces, covered parking, and cable TV have a great effect on rental rates.

There are market factors to consider as well. For instance, when rent is equal to or exceeds a mortgage payment, tenants will do the math and realize it makes more sense to buy.

After all is said and done, testing and tracking is a time-honored way of setting rent prices. Also it’s easier to lower prices than to raise them. Finally, if the rental market is soft, it might be a good idea to offer small things like a free month of cable TV etc.

Find a Home in the Las Vegas area

New Construction Home Search in the Las Vegas area

What's my Home Worth? Selling a Home in the Las Vegas area

Difference Between Pre-Qual & Pre-Approval

What Are The Differences Between Pre-Qualification and Pre-Approval?

Are you thinking about buying a house in Las Vegas are? GREAT! Are you paying with cash or financing? If you are financing, you should talk to a few mortgage loan officers and find out how much you can afford BEFORE you start your house hunting. Otherwise if you find a house you fell in love and find out you are not qualified for the loan, your heart will be broken!

In order to reduce stress during the process of home buying is to seek pre-approval, actually applying for a loan before finding a house. The loan agent gathers a credit package that includes a loan application, credit report, income and asset information, and supporting documentation. These documents are then submitted to prospective lenders who underwrite the file, issuing credit approval or denial.

Buyers who are pre-approved are taken more seriously than their pre-qualified counterparts. Pre-qualification is not a loan commitment from a lending institution; it is only a loan agent’s opinion that you will be able to obtain financing. Verification is not usually made so formal approval is not issued. These days, virtually anyone can achieve pre-qual status.

Pre-approval, on the other hand, signifies that the lender has taken the application through a rigorous procedure. So buyers with pre-approval status can basically write their own ticket.

Here are the benefits of Pre-Approval:

- If you make an offer on a home and then apply for a loan, you are at the lender’s mercy. He sets the interest rate and points, aware that you do not have time to shop around.

- Understanding the breadth of your financial reach will save the time spent looking at houses you can’t afford.

- Shopping for a loan allows you to settle on a house payment that fits your lifestyle. If you rely on your lender to tell you what you can afford, you may end up with a high mortgage payment. Most people can qualify for more than they would feel comfortable paying.

- Having a pre-approval letter from a lender gives you an edge in a situation where multiple offers have been made on a house.

- Pre-approved buyers can generally close escrow more quickly. Once you submit your credit package, most of the legwork has already been done.

However, neither pre-approval nor pre-qualification are absolute loan commitments. Lenders must still assess property appraisals, verify information, and, in many cases, verify credit before funding the loan. So remember "DO NOT BUY A CAR or anything large purchase UNTIL AFTER CLOSING"! 

Find a Home in the Las Vegas area

New Construction Home Search in the Las Vegas area

What's my Home Worth? Selling a Home in the Las Vegas area

Should You Refinance Your Mortgage Now?

 

Should You Refinance Your Mortgage Now?

You probably have been hearing the news about the interest rate being historically low right now. What is current interest rate for your mortgage loan? 4%? 5%? 

The most common reasons to refinance are;

- to lower interest rate

- to reduce the length of mortgage

- to make home improvements or cover other expenses

- to lock in a constant interest rate if you have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM)

- to convert to an ARM to lower monthly payments,

While all the above refinancing reasons are reasonable, there are many factors to consider. This process, as you already know, is time-consuming and often expensive.

First, you should calculate your savings by figure out the following numbers;

- Your current monthly payment

- The original cost of the home

- An itemization of refinancing costs

- Monthly payment after the refinance

- Length of time you plan to live in the house after the refinance

- The amount still owed on the house, and the break-even point (calculate this by dividing the total cost of the refinance by how much you’ll save each month on your payment.).

Depending on your ultimate goal in refinancing, the above numbers should give you a good idea of whether or not it makes sense. If it is confusing to you, there are many online “calculators” that can assist you in investigating refinancing like Mortgage.net for example.

Find a Home in the Las Vegas area

New Construction Home Search in the Las Vegas area

What's my Home Worth? Selling a Home in the Las Vegas area