Blog, Blah, Blah....

Tired of the yada, yada, yada on this subject?
Yeah, I was too, now I am totally jazzed!!

I didn't think there was anything new, and I certainly wasn't excited over the possible fixes laid out by the government to handle the Sub-prime mess---Yes, but that was before I talked to John Vogel, Professor at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.  He appeared on my show this past Thursday.

Why aren't guys like this front and center in the news with their ideas being implemented.  There so much to share about this, but in short--here goes.

His idea is called the Last Change Mortgage (right click to download full article) and it is a "Share the Pain" solution.  Nobody gets off scott free, neither the lenders nor the homeowners.

John asserts that believe it or not, when all this first happened, all parties were likely acting rationally--this started before the housing bubble, and on the lenders' side, they kept seeing massive appreciation, so getting more folks into homes was a no-brainer, and the downside wasn't much if the housing prices kept going up.  On the homeowner side, for the most part, families were trying to get into homes sooner than later, otherwise they feared that they would not be able to afford the same house next year, since they were already chasing real estate appreciation.  And then....

THE PERFECT STORM HIT-And we now see the outcome.... 

So, here are the highlights....

• A pool of money for the Last Chance Mortgage is created
• The homeowners in trouble borrow this money at 3%
• The lenders take less than what is owed on these mortgages, a kind of global short sale on these mortgages-making these home values realistic and affordable again.  The LENDERS PENALTY FOR MAKING A BAD DECISION
• Lenders are happy with this because they do not want the real estate back, especially in the state of disrepair in which it usually returns.  Their loan loss ratios recover, and they are getting healthy again, too.
• The number of foreclosures is dramatically reduced, along with all the ripple effect of unemployment, crime, retail indicators (being able to afford to fix-up), and many others.
• The homeowner gets to stay in the home (assuming they can afford this low, low rate), and they get all the benefits of homeownership, such as interest deduction, etc--they JUST DON'T GET APPRECIATION.  The HOMEOWNERS PENALTY FOR MAKING A BAD DECISION. When and if their situation improves, they can sell and move on to a home where they can enjoy all of the benefits including appreciation.
• With new layer of affordable housing created by this, more homeowners can come into neighborhoods, revitalize these homes, and begin have what was intended by the American Dream! 

There is much more to it, but this is an overview.  This is the best idea yet!
If you have any comments, please post them, I'd love to hear them, and pass on to the author of this brainstorm!

Say it with me....P-U-R-G-E....
Ahhhhh....

Well, if you tuned in yesterday, you laughed and organized till you dropped.  Sara Fisher, Certified Professional Organizer and dear friend from Atlanta, was my guest.  She kept us laughing, and repeating the mantra....
P-U-R-G-E....Oh, boy that felt good.  Even Paul, my co-host got into it, as we held hands and swayed!!  I was a bit surprised as I thought that Paul would certainly zone out, considering organizing might ordinarily fall to the "girly" side of things, but he hung right in there--as well he should, because his own office looks like a bomb went off it it!  He also swooned over Sara's southern accent, turned on like a cool mint julep just for him!  So we all picked up some great tips, including our caller Judy--who won an overnight package at THE FLANDERS HOTEL, in Ocean City, NJ.  Hey, it pays to call my show!!

One of those tips was to make sure that the container you are using is appropriate for the item.  If you have really important papers to store, using a cardboard box could be disaster in a flooded basement, a leaky attic, or might even be a breeding, nesting place for bugs. 

My favorite tip, though was right at the beginning, when Sara let us off the hook by saying it is not about "perfection" or "rigidity".  She says that we have to live in our houses, and "do life".  We will be bringing stuff into our living spaces, but it is about taking little steps and beginning to get the feel of everything having a home-in our home.  The goal is to create a comfortable, non-stressed environment.  Look around you....do you feel the love and the peace??

Sara, as always (in life and on the air) was fun to listen to and offered great wisdom for those of us who are "organized-impaired".  To get a hold of her, you can find her on her well-organized website at www.asimplespace.net/  To find a local organizer visit www.napo.net

NOW, GO CLEAN THAT CLOSET!!! 

Short Sales--They're Tough,
But Don't Ignore the Opportunities

I had two great guests on for my show on Short Sales, something I personally am interested and active in.  Michael Noreski of Solutions, LLC, a Short Sale Investment Company, and Kathy Genter of G2 Investments.  Both negotiate short sales, and offered us some interesting observations about the process, and it's many faceted approach to helping homeowners when they are "upside-down" with their mortgage.  Michael has a fascinating background, as he spent many years in the collections industry, the "Dark Side of Money", as he calls it, and helped to create the "loss mitigation" maze that now takes place in banks and with lenders when negotiating short sales.  From that inside knowledge, he has created a company to now help homeowners and realtors who want to outsource these deals to them, and get them negotiated.  

Kathy Genter, has had an up close and personal experience of what a foreclosure can do to a family when her mother many years ago, went through a life change and ended in losing their family home.  Fast forward many years later, while another family member risked losing their home--and because of a kind and scrupulous investor, they ended up getting a fresh start, and avoiding foreclosure.  Kathy is a short-sale investor concentrating in the Lower Bucks area, and is also helping homeowners and realtors negotiate short sales. Kathy talks about the confusion homeowners face due to the widespread and often misleading media coverage, vulture investors, coupled with an extremely stressful time for the homeowner.

I was very excited to speak with both of these folks as they are clear about their focus--putting the homeowner first.  Please call them if you have questions, or call me and I will connect ya'll up!  

Michael Noreski - 800-667-5787   www.solutionsshortsale.com

Kathy Genter - 267-884-2388  www.selltodan.com

The show will be up as a podcast shortly--getting more webspace....

Stigmatized Homes/Haunted Homes

Guests

Joseph Tittel-Spiritual Medium and Psychic
www.josephtittel.com

Mary Pope-Handy
www.hauntedrealestateblog.com
www.hauntedrealestate.com

Oh, man--creepy, deliciously spine-tingling, and FUN!!  We had an amazing show and terrific event at The Flanders Hotel in Ocean City, NJ.  The Flanders Hotel on the Boardwalk in OCNJ, is a walk back to yesteryear.  The charm, elegance and graciousness of this grand hotel will take you back to another era--when it was built in 1923.  We brought WBCB 1490 on the road for a live remote, since The Flanders has their own resident ghost.  It was the perfect venue for this event, and was a wonderfully interesting show.  .  A topic many people want to know about, and want to talk about, but maybe in veiled or hushed tones, lest someone think they are a WACKO!

Well, us weirdo's were out in full force with all the spirits that haunt the Flanders ( in a good way!)  Joseph, our Spiritual Medium, best known for his appearance on Lifetime TV's America's Psychic Challenge, and The Travel Channel,  told us that there were a good number of spirits, but nothing bad or evil--whew!

On the show we talked to Mary Pope-Handy who is a conglomerator of haunted real estate stories and gets visitors to her blog from all over the world posting their stories or experiences with haunted real estate.  Mary is also a realtor in the Silicon Valley area of California, and she shared some spooky stories of real estate that had been stigmatized from some tragedy that marked the home.  It was interesting to learn how different the real estate disclosure laws are from state to state.  In CA, there is a requirement to disclose anything that would affect the desirability of that home.  In PA and NJ, there are no requirements to disclose, but folks here agree that it is better to err on the side of telling what you know, even though you are not required to do so.  In yet another interesting twist, Mary tell us that in Oregon, a realtor can find him/herself in trouble for disclosing things of this nature--so realtor and buyer beware, and know your state laws. 

The upshot for a buyer who is concerned about these ghostly things is to do their research, talk to neighbors if this information would disturb you. 

Definitely visit Mary's blog.  There is way too much juicy stuff to mention, but you can reach her at the above links.  Dive in--grab some angel food, or devil's food cake and enjoy!

The rest of the evening was fascinating.  After a delicious dinner in Emily's Ocean Room Cafe, named after the happy ghost who haunts the Flanders Hotel, we moved on to Joseph's Public Gallery Readings--Messages from the Other Side".  Simply put, I was stunned....I had seen John Edwards and James Van Praagh on TV, but being in the room with someone who connects with the dead, and sees dead people was amazing!  I was surprised at how rapid-fire the information came at him, and how he had to get it out--as he said, he's got spirits pounding on him to get messages to their loved ones.  The details were no way able to be made up--he would tell the person he was reading where a tattoo was located and what design on the body of the person who passed--he talked about a plate collection that one spirit came through to share--or a missing finger on one person who passed--I mean... to detailed to possibly create. 

The best part of the readings I thought is when he was finishing up and he asked the audience if there were any "life questions" (health, finances, etc) they wanted to ask--that is---not about connecting to a loved one.  As he says  "I can't just dial up the dead!"  He does this to give those who might not have gotten a reading or a loved one coming through for them, to have the opportunity to ask a question. 

Well, this one young lady was having difficulty asking a question--you could tell she wanted to talk about a loved one's passing--Joseph kept asking her to stay with a "life question".  Actually, Joseph got a little testy with her, and spoke to her a little sternly--he was tired and wanted to make sure he gave this opportunity.  All of a sudden, his head wails back, and he says--"WHOA--who's Joe?--I think he just slapped me for talking to you like that"--He reeled back again, and almost fell over--and got slapped again.  The next thing you know Joseph was giving this woman a reading.  Joe happens to be this woman's deceased husband, who wanted to come through and give her a message and Joseph was originally blocking it.  So, he connected-up and next thing you know, gave a whole lot of amazing details that let this woman know that not only was her hubby going to come through to her, but he certainly wasn't letting any one talk to her in a rough tone--IT WAS GREAT!!!

I was exhausted when he was done--it was as if you took a breath, you might miss something. 

After that we took a tour of the Catacombs beneath the Hotel where a lot of spirit activity takes place.  Bob got a lot of pictures with orbs on them and they are posted on Joseph's website at www.josephtittel.com.  Joseph shared what he was feeling down there and told us about a few more spirits, complete with names who were down in the bowels of the hotel hanging around.  

We all made it through the night, and had a wonderful breakfast, and tour of some of the gorgeous penthouses in the hotel.  So, back we go for another event like this hopefully soon, to introduce others to a night to remember!

For more info on the Flanders, check out www.theflandershotel.com

Seeya!

Getting Deals at the Foreclosure Auctions

Wow!  We learned a lot from both Sheriff "Duke" Donnelly and Marc Sherby.  The Sheriff told us about the process they go through when a home is going for auction.  What we learned is that it is not an overnight thing.  The Sheriff department has some very specific procedures they must follow, and contrary to popular belief--no one is "put out by the Sheriff".  Though you must understand that through this process a homeowner in default is given many options before this legal process is instituted.  You can learn more about the Sheriff sale process by visiting the Sheriff's page at www.buckscounty.org

Marc Sherby told us how to avoid the mistakes many investors make thinking they are getting a good deal at the sheriff Sale.  there are good deals to be had, but that involves a lot of due diligence to understand exactly what you are buying.  Many lien and encumbrances can still be on a property that would be YOUR responsibility should you end up the owner.  So, "Buyer Beware" has never been more important.  For more information about buying at Sheriff's Sales, you can contact Marc at 610-675-4837.

BANKRUPTCY - What you Need To Know

What a great show!  We had Jon Adelstein, Bankruptcy attorney on to tell us what the real scoop is on the new bankruptcy laws, who qualifies, and how for some folks, this is a very viable option.  I was surprised to learn how quickly people can recover and emerge "fresh again" from Bankruptcy.  Should this be something you are facing, along with foreclosure, I highly recommend you get in touch with Jon to see what your options are.  You can reach him at (215) 230-4250