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STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
What we REALLY need to fear
by Jill Schlesinger
09-23-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Fall Out
by Jill Schlesinger
09-22-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Back to School: Advanced Placement
by Jill Schlesinger
09-13-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Inversion Immersion Over
by Jill Schlesinger
09-1--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Housing, shopping, eating and drinking
by Jill Schlesinger
08-9--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Hindsight Bias
by Jill Schlesinger
08-8--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Here Come the Bonds
by Jill Schlesinger
08-4--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
403 B-WARE
by Jill Schlesinger
08-31-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Is That Really Saving?
by Jill Schlesinger
08-3--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Short Memories
by Jill Schlesinger
08-29-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
More Housing Grousing
by Jill Schlesinger
08-26-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
LTC TLC
by Jill Schlesinger
08-2--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Price Advice
by Jill Schlesinger
08-18-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Entertainment vs. Real Life
by Jill Schlesinger
08-17-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Lies Unearthed
by Jill Schlesinger
08-16-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Death to the Death Tax?
by Jill Schlesinger
08-15-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
When will we care?
by Jill Schlesinger
08-13-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Lender Bender
by Jill Schlesinger
08-11-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
First Down, Federal Reserve
by Jill Schlesinger
08-10-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Good Idea, Bad Execution
by Jill Schlesinger
08-1--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
June Spending Spree
by Jill Schlesinger
07-8--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Grim Reminder
by Jill Schlesinger
07-7--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Balancing Act
by Jill Schlesinger
07-6--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Good News to Help Your Re-entry
by Jill Schlesinger
07-5--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
The Housing Boom is Dea
by Jill Schlesinger
07-28-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Lance, France and Finance
by Jill Schlesinger
07-27-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Unethical and Dishonest
by Jill Schlesinger
07-26-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Portfolio CSI
by Jill Schlesinger
07-22-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
All My Taxes, Continued
by Jill Schlesinger
07-21-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Debt Fret
by Jill Schlesinger
07-20-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Tempus Fugit (Time Flies)
by Jill Schlesinger
07-19-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Gored, Ignored and Bored
by Jill Schlesinger
07-18-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Bernie Faces the Music
by Jill Schlesinger
07-14-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Above Average Mack
by Jill Schlesinger
07-13-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
The Real Bottom Line
by Jill Schlesinger
07-12-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Lessons from London
by Jill Schlesinger
07-11-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Independence Day
by Jill Schlesinger
07-1--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Worry Less, Do More
by Jill Schlesinger
06-9--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Less Wealthy
by Jill Schlesinger
06-8--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Boring is Better
by Jill Schlesinger
06-7--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
D-Day for Housing?
by Jill Schlesinger
06-6--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Miffed Maestro
by Jill Schlesinger
06-30-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
No, Non, Nee
by Jill Schlesinger
06-3--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
The Demise of One-stop Shopping
by Jill Schlesinger
06-29-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
SPAM JAM
by Jill Schlesinger
06-28-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Gentleman’s C
by Jill Schlesinger
06-27-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
A Strange Odor in the Air
by Jill Schlesinger
06-24-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Clear as Glass-Man
by Jill Schlesinger
06-23-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Déjà vu All Over Again
by Jill Schlesinger
06-22-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
TomKat
by Jill Schlesinger
06-21-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Is I-O for You?
by Jill Schlesinger
06-20-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Fed in a Box
by Jill Schlesinger
06-2--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Buffett Wrong?
by Jill Schlesinger
06-17-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
10 vs. 2
by Jill Schlesinger
06-16-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
When the Boss Goes, Should You?
by Jill Schlesinger
06-14-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Diagnosing the Doctor
by Jill Schlesinger
06-13-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
An Old Fashioned Notion
by Jill Schlesinger
06-10-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Arthur’s Revenge
by Jill Schlesinger
06-1--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Here We Go Again…
by Jill Schlesinger
05-9--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
In the Eye of the Beholder
by Jill Schlesinger
05-6--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Menu Overload
by Jill Schlesinger
05-5--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
The Fed View: Looking Ahead, Looking Back
by Jill Schlesinger
05-4--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Stealth Wealth
by Jill Schlesinger
05-31-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
The Education Gap
by Jill Schlesinger
05-3--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Reality Financial Planning
by Jill Schlesinger
05-27-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Mixed Emotions
by Jill Schlesinger
05-26-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Froth Defined
by Jill Schlesinger
05-25-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Men are from Mars…
by Jill Schlesinger
05-24-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
The Dark Side of Investing
by Jill Schlesinger
05-23-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Investors Behaving Badly
by Jill Schlesinger
05-20-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
The Spender’s Cocktail
by Jill Schlesinger
05-2--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Stag-Party
by Jill Schlesinger
05-19-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Tiger Woods and Other Unexpected Events
by Jill Schlesinger
05-18-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Attention to Pensions
by Jill Schlesinger
05-17-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
The Single Life
by Jill Schlesinger
05-16-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Go Figure
by Jill Schlesinger
05-13-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Trimming Down
by Jill Schlesinger
05-12-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Miss Hummer’s Summer
by Jill Schlesinger
05-11-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Precise About Advice
by Jill Schlesinger
05-10-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
One Week to Go
by Jill Schlesinger
04-8--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Why They Do What They Do
by Jill Schlesinger
04-7--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
VA-VA-VOOM
by Jill Schlesinger
04-6--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Six Tax Facts, Part 5
by Jill Schlesinger
04-5--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Safe at the Plate
by Jill Schlesinger
04-4--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Slow Down, You Move Too Fast
by Jill Schlesinger
04-29-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Guess the Asset
by Jill Sclesinger
04-27-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
l 26 2005 - With all the talk about steroids these days, we thought we might borrow Jose Canseco’s best-selling title "Juiced
Jill Schlesinger
04-26-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Letter from London
by Jill Schlesinger
04-25-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Filling the Bill
by Jill Schlesinger
04-22-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Twin Sins
by Jill Schlesinger
04-20-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Empty Promises
by Jill Schlesinger
04-19-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Before the Brink
by Jill Schlesinger
04-18-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Small Sacrifices
by Jill Schlesinger
04-15-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Dinner Faux Pas
by Jill Schlesinger
04-14-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Anti-Globalization
by Jill Schlesinger
04-13-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Six Tax Facts Part 6
by Jill Schlesinger
04-12-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Report Cards
by Jill Schlesinger
04-11-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Fools Rush In
by Jill Schlesinger
04-1--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Debt Threat
by Jill Schlesinger
03-9--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Martha’s Paid Dues
by Jill Schlesinger
03-7--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
What Do They Know
by Jill Schlesinger
03-4--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
A Pox on the S-Ox
by Jill Schlesinger
03-31-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
The Bottom Line on Ethics
by Jill Schlesinger
03-30-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Six Tax Facts, Part 4
by Jill Schlesinger
03-29-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Yield at these Yields
by Jill Schlesinger
03-24-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Measure at your Pleasure
by Jill Schlesinger
03-23-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Six Tax Facts, Part 3
by Jill Schlesinger
03-22-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
There’s Two Sides of a Divorce
by Jill Schlesinger
03-21-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Transcribe the Jive
by Jill Schlesinger
03-18-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Content to Rent
by Jill Schlesinger
03-17-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Ebbers and Flow of Corporate Greed
by Jill Schlesinger
03-16-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Six Tax Facts, Part 2
by Jill Schlesinger
03-15-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Cash Re-hash
by Jill Schlesinger
03-14-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Pillow Talk
by Jill Schlesinger
03-11-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Pisces Markets
by Jill Schlesinger
03-10-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Year of the Rooster
by Jill Schlesinger
02-9--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Super Bowl Patrol
by Jill Schlesinger
02-8--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Invest Well
by Jill Schlesinger
02-7--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Corporate Evolution
by Jill Schlesinger
02-4--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
The Fed’s REAL Intent
by Jill Schlesinger
02-3--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
It’s So Bad That He Won’t Believe Us
by Jill Schlesinger
02-28-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Our Oscars
by Jill Schlesinger
02-25-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Tame or Lame
by Jill Schlesinger
02-24-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Q and A
by Jill Schlesinger
02-23-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
New England’s on a Roll
by Jill Schlesinger
02-22-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Groundhog Investing
by Jill Schlesinger
02-2--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Capacity Tenacity
by Jill Schlesinger
02-17-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Budget Busters
by Jill Schlesinger
02-14-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Procrasti-Nation
by Jill Schlesinger
02-11-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Carly’s Crash
by Jill Schlesinger
02-10-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Press vs. Price
by Jill Schlesinger
01-7--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Play Money
by Jill Schlesinger
01-6--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Blame Alan!
by Jill Schlesinger
01-5--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Resolutions We’d Like to See
by Jill Schlesinger
01-4--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Beyond January
by Jill Schlesinger
01-31-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Resolution Solution
by Jill Schlesinger
01-3--2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
The Fed is Talking…Are you Listening
by Jill Schlesinger
01-25-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
The Gift that Keeps on Giving
by Jill Schlesinger
01-19-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Happy Fifth!
by Jill Schlesinger
01-18-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Still Ahead
by Jill Schlesinger
01-14-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Take a seat
by Jill Schlesinger
01-13-2005

STRATEGICPOINT OF VIEW
Too Rich
by Jill Schlesinger
01-12-2005

StrategicPoint of View
Lender Bender

August 11, 2005: As the housing market continues to roll along, many are perplexed by the strength and length of the boom. Some are saying that we are in a bubble, citing historic data about rates of growth, while others cling to research which disproves the existence of a bubble. As experts on both sides debate the issue, one thing is clear: it is getting more expensive to purchase and own a house in most parts of the country.

For the past few years, the rise in housing prices was offset by 40-year lows in mortgage rates. Despite a larger purchase price, buyers were still able to service their monthly mortgage payments with thirty-year mortgage rates comfortably below 6%. But as house prices continued to spiral higher, even a 6% loan could not do the job. Enter the innovative lenders.

With soaring house prices, a Federal Reserve bent on increasing interest rates and overall affordability going down, mortgage lenders had to create new ways to keep the monthly payments down so that buyers could afford their dream homes. The result has been an explosion in the popularity of adjustable rate, interest-only and no-money down loans. The vast majority of people using these products are not fully aware of the major risk that exists in using them: if interest rates rise and house prices fall, homeowners may not be able to afford monthly nuts, and could even be forced to sell their homes at a loss.

But don’t talk about these risks to an anxious buyer who desperately wants in on the housing boom. Home buyers are increasingly relying on aggressive mortgage products to get what they want---a low monthly payment that can help them afford something that they otherwise might not be able to carry on their current cash flow. Like the auto industry which has been able to keep car sales going with zero percent financing, mortgage lenders have helped the housing market to remain buoyant with a pool of cheap money.

The answer to how long the boom can continue will probably have more to do with the ability of lenders to provide that liquidity to the market. For now, it is working and housing continues to be strong. But like the auto industry, the ability to borrow from future demand is not sustainable forever. Creative financing that has prolonged the housing boom can work, until it doesn’t.

The data referred to above was taken from sources believed to be reliable. StrategicPoint Investment Advisors has not verified such data and no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made by StrategicPoint Investment Advisors. The data referred to above was taken from sources believed to be reliable. StrategicPoint Investment Advisors has not verified such data and no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made by StrategicPoint Investment Advisors . For more financial information visit www.strategicpoint.com.

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