Mountain Views News          Saturday, December 6, 2014

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BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

Mountain Views-News Saturday, December 6, 2014 

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME 

When you hear that someone managed to sell a home without representation, it’s likely that the sale was to 
a family member, close friend, or a tenant who was already renting and living there. These exceptional cases 
are not the norm, and there are powerful reasons why it is so difficult to make a sale ”by owner.” 

 The biggest roadblock is that For Sale By Owners (FSBOs) aren’t included in the Multiple Listing Service 
(MLS) that licensed agents and organizations use. A sign in the yard and an ad in the newspaper are no 
match for the widespread exposure gained from a listing visible on the MLS. 

 Since the FSBO has no listing agreement providing for a sales commission, many agents won’t show 
these homes with no promise of compensation. Again, this greatly reduces the number of potential buyers 
exposed to the offering, not to mention the fact that buyers who do express interest will not have been 
screened by a professional to determine their qualifications. 

 Perhaps the most hazardous aspect of selling “by owner” is the potential for legal oversights and 
complications. Real estate transactions are loaded with potential liability for unrepresented and unwitting 
sellers. One overlooked form or improper disclosure could generate an expensive lawsuit. 

 Just as you wouldn’t enter the courtroom without an attorney, you shouldn’t sell your home without 
professional representation.

LIFE LINES by Amanda Rogers


I think the hardest adjustment a new parent 
has to make when bringing a baby home 
from the hospital is learning how to live with 
a narcissist. Some of the most self-centered 
people I know, quite frankly, are babies. Sure, 
when they’re new to the neighborhood they 
deserve a proper welcome. I say give them a 
home-cooked meal or one of those Hickory 
Farms gift baskets. That should suffice. 
But really…day after day, night after night 
attending to their every whim with nary a 
thank you? 

 Bottom line – we’re all born selfish. 
It’s not until eighteen months that we start 
to see the transformation from narcissism 
into humor, empathy and wisdom. Which, 
let’s face it, as a parent, is a whole lot more 
gratifying than a thank you card.

 But just because humans are created 
with the potential to become empathetic 
doesn’t mean it always happens. An estimated 
6.2% of the US population demonstrates 
what is identified as narcissistic behavior. Let 
me put it this way…there are twice as many 
narcissists in this country than redheads! 

 For anyone in a close relationship with 
a narcissist the future can look awfully bleak. 
That’s because a narcissist needs to recognize 
his or her own fallibility to end the narcissism 
- but the nature of the narcissist is such that 
he can’t recognize his own fallibility. Huh? Now what?

 For me, I think the answer is accepting who they are… and then loving them from afar…like China. 
You probably won’t change them. And let’s face it, just because this person has some redeeming qualities, 
doesn’t mean you have to spend your life enduring their arrogant and hurtful behaviors.

 Don’t get me wrong…we all enjoy receiving affirmation from people. And we all need a certain amount 
of recognition to inspire us. But at what point does it become dangerous and exploitive to others? When 
the need becomes compulsive and unscrupulous.

 I am exploring the subject of narcissism in light of the Bill Cosby scandal. I am fascinated by the 
public’s reaction to the newly exposed narcissism of such a beloved member of our celebrity culture. 
There are a lot of angry fans out there. Bill Cosby’s audience feels taken advantage of, disrespected, 
duped. We were sold an image… a façade of light undoubtedly created by his psyche (and his press 
agent) to compensate for the darkness of his reality. But we bought into the image. Was that naïve of us? 
Should we learn to be more skeptical about people and their motives? Or do we, with noble defiance, 
hold tight to a faith in the goodness of people?

 I suppose we all have to answer that as individuals from our own experiences dealing with the darker 
side of humanity. For me, perhaps it’s a little bit of both. On one hand, letting go of some naïveté might 
prove beneficial. As would taking more time to recognize and value the good inside myself, so I won’t 
feel the need to project goodness onto a person I don’t even know. 

 On the other hand, like the new parent, I can’t help but maintain some belief that our children are 
inherently good, until proven otherwise. To continue the conversation, join me at 

www.amandarogerscoaching.com

ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO...DIAMONDS? 

They say diamonds are forever. We, however, are not. 
But through science – I’m not making this up – there is 
now a way to immortalize ourselves or our loved ones 
by turning cremated ashes into diamonds.

 Always on the lookout for ways to help my clients 
preserve and pass on their legacies, I came across a 
recent article in The Atlantic profiling a Swiss company 
called Algordanza which has perfected the process that 
turns the carbon from human remains into diamonds. 

The company receives 800 urns every year, and for a 
cost ranging from $5,000 to $20,000, it turns them into 
unique diamonds using diamond presses that apply 
pressure of almost 800,000 pounds per square inch at 
temperatures of up to 2,500°F. The entire process takes 
approximately three months to produce a diamond.

 Each diamond is unique in color, resulting from the 
specific combination of trace elements that are present 
in every person. Many different things can affect 
color: the presence of metal in the body, remnants of 
chemotherapy and other variables all have an impact 
on the final color. Many diamonds turn out blue 
because of the presence of boron in the human body; 
if the decedent had blue eyes, this can be especially 
meaningful to the family. 

 Algordanza says it does not add any chemicals or 
other treatments to color the gems artificially: “We 
do not believe in manipulations. As soon as you have 
additives, there’s something in a diamond that doesn’t 
belong.”

 Most people elect to have their diamonds set in 
jewelry, although there are some who have buried them 
in special places or have even thrown them in a lake at a 
favorite fishing spot. 

 LifeGem is an American company that produces 
diamonds from cremated ashes or even a lock of hair. 
To makes its diamonds, the company harvests the 
carbon elements from the cremated ashes. Under high 
heat, the carbon is purified into graphite, which is then 
placed into a diamond press that exerts high heat and 
pressure to create a rough diamond. 

 The rough diamond is then cut and polished by 
skilled diamond cutters and certified for authenticity. 
Each diamond is molecularly identical to natural 
diamonds, with the same brilliance, luster and hardness 
found in mined diamonds.

 If preserving your legacy is important to you, you 
should also look into the services we provide to clients. 
For example, we can help you capture and pass on your 
own story, wisdom, and guidance to your loved ones 
through a special video we produce for each of our 
clients as part of our legacy planning process. It’s a gift 
your family will cherish forever!

 To you family’s health, wealth, and happiness,

A local attorney, father, and CASA volunteer (Court 
Appointed Special Advocate for Children), Marc Garlett 
is on a mission to help parents protect what they love 
most. His office is located at 49 S. Baldwin Ave., Ste. G, 
Sierra Madre, CA 91024. Call 626.355.4000 to schedule 
an appointment to sit down and talk about ensuring a 
legacy of love and financial security for your family or 
visit www.GarlettLaw.com for more information.


5 COOL TOOLS

It’s time for a list of Cool tools that can help you with 
your on-line marketing. Here are 5 of my favorite tools 
and what they do:

- Canva is a very easy to use on-line design tool for 
blog graphics, presentations, Facebook images etc. It’s 
free and very fun to use.

- Snagit is a screenshot program that allows you to 
capture video or take a snap shot of something on your 
screen so you can turn it into an image for a presentation 
or a social media post. 

- PicMonkey is an online photo-editing tool. You can 
remove wrinkles correct color, crop, add special effects 
and do all kinds of creative things. It’s free to use.

- Bit.ly is a tool that shortens long web addresses. 
Sign up for a free account and you can track how many 
people click on a link.

- Constant Contact is an all-in-one marketing tool. It 
allows you to send group emails, track open rates and 
click-through rates, create event registration systems, 
produce surveys and promotional campaigns. Pricing 
is affordable and starts at $20 a month. What sets is 
apart from other email service providers is their all-in-
one tool belt and their amazing help line.

About MJ: MJ and her brother David own HUTdogs, 
a creative services business that specializes in Internet 
Marketing strategies and Social Media. They offer social 
media management services and help their clients build 
a strong on-line presence. “Like” them on Facebook for 
trending news in social media, internet marketing and 
other helpful tips, www.facebook.com/hutdogs.

Sign up for their upcoming classes, webinars and 
presentations at: www.hutdogs.com/workshops/
schedule 


INTEREST RATES REMAIN THE SAME 

FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2015

WASHINGTON – 

The Internal Revenue Service today announced that interest rates will remain the same for the calendar quarter 
beginning Jan. 1, 2015. The rates will be: 

 - three (3) percent for overpayments (two (2) percent in the case of a corporation); 

 - three (3) percent for underpayments; 

 - five (5) percent for large corporate underpayments; and 

 - one-half (0.5) percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000. 

 Under the Internal Revenue Code, the rate of interest is determined on a quarterly basis. For taxpayers other 
than corporations, the overpayment and underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage 
points. 

 Generally, in the case of a corporation, the underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage 
points and the overpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 2 percentage points. The rate for large 
corporate underpayments is the federal short-term rate plus 5 percentage points. The rate on the portion of a 
corporate overpayment of tax exceeding $10,000 for a taxable period is the federal short-term rate plus one-half 
(0.5) of a percentage point.

 The interest rates announced today are computed from the federal short-term rate determined during 
October 2014 to take effect Nov. 1, 2014, based on daily compounding.

WE’D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU! WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?

Contact us at: editor@mtnviewsnews.com or www.facebook.com/mountainviewsnews AND Twitter: @mtnviewsnews


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com