Home price appreciation outpaced wage growth in the U.S.  After prices bottomed out in 2012, they have recovered rather quickly, especially for investors says Daren Blomquist, VP of Realty Trac.  For the momentum to grow traditional buyers need to get MORE into the market, but wages are not increasing as much.  “The gap has worsened in many areas as rents continue to climb, but the accelerated pace of hiring has yet to give workers a meaningful bump in pay” according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist National Assoc. of Realtors.  So more folks are STAYING AS RENTERS.

40% thought the mortgage application and approval process were more difficult than expected.  22% said saving for the down payment was the most difficult task in the home buying process & 46% said it took them a year with 24% saying 1-2 years, then 17% 2-5 years & finally 13% more than 5 years.  33% had to repay student loans, 33% have too much credit card debt, another 33% paying on a car loan and lastly 38% paying for extra childcare, healthcare expenses, etc.  SACRIFICES to purchase a home are:  48% cut spending on nonessential items, 13% canceled vacations & 7% got extra income through a 2nd job.  All this according to Dr. Jim Gaines, economist the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M U.

Fortunately bedbugs don’t spread disease with their bites, but the bites can be terribly itchy and tend of occur in lines or groups..  They usually occur above the waist and are attracted by the carbon dioxide we exhale.  When we travel, the first thing we do when we get to the hotel – NO matter how  many stars its rated – check the beds for bedbugs.  JUST SOMETHING WE ALL HAVE TO BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR, particularly if we travel a lot.

When we were children our parents often sent us to bed with “I love you and don’t let the bedbugs bite”.  Bedbugs are now a national epidemic and not necessarily the produce of an unclean environment.  Instead they are passed on in people’s clothing and in luggage.  Clothing & bed sheets have to be washed in how soapy water & dried in a hot dryer.  Then the bed and whole area have to be scrubbed.  May have to fumigate and call an exterminator.   Article by Mary Jo Fulton, MS, RN and will be CONTINUED NEXT BLOG.