My mother-in-law told me this morning about when she lived in a haunted house,

"It’s when I lived with my Uncle Jim.  There was an old drunk who died at that house after a night of drinking.  He’d come home every night at the same time and go upstairs to his room to pass out.  After he died my uncle bought the house.  Every night at midnight, my uncle’s bedroom door would open and then we’d hear footsteps going up the stairs.  Even after he died, he still came home drunk to go to bed!"

I admit that while touring with potential buyers, I’ve walked into houses that stop me in my tracks. I’ve been lucky to have never seen a face in the window, but I wonder what it would be like to catch one on film.  Like this.

When I’m gone, I think I’d like to come back and haunt people.  A jolly, laughing ghost.

At a meeting I attended a couple of weeks ago, an agent said she was refocusing her real estate career to specialize in short sales and foreclosures.  I don’t know why, but her new goal bothers me.

I know that there are people who will be facing difficult times – many already have.  I also know that I’ll help where I can.  For example, I received a call yesterday from a man who’s been unemployed since March.  He is still current on his mortgage payments and has enough to make his November payment, but come December he’s out of money.  He called because everyone has told him to sell and he didn’t know what else to do.

The gentleman went on to explain that he really didn’t want to sell his home because he doesn’t think he’ll be able to find a place less expensive to live.  When he told me what his monthly payment is, I agreed with him.

I advised him that now is probably not the time to sell.  The FIRST thing he needs to do is contact his lender and explain his situation.  His credit is still good, he’s never been late on a payment, so there is a good chance that they’ll grant him a forbearance – or several months off of paying the mortgage while he keeps working to find another job (he said he’s a finalist at this point for two jobs).

I want to help him and yet I don’t.  I don’t want him to have to sell, but I want him to hear options to solve his problem.  I don’t want to be a short-sale specialist or a foreclosure diva.  But I think I’d be okay with being the person to motivate would-be sellers to act – not just be frozen with fear of the unknown.  I want to encourage people to face that important phone call to the loan company.  Face that they might have to work two jobs to make ends meet.  Understand that if they go into foreclosure, their credit is ruined for years to come.

Make the phone call.  Get two low paying jobs instead of just one super job if you have to.  Don’t give up.

Photo by ClickFlashPhotos through Flickr Commons.

It’s that time of year again … time for Realtors from across the country to pick out what they’re going to mail their clients for Christmas! 

Do I choose the old refrigerator calendar so I can slap my business card on top, thereby allowing the people on my mailing list to look at my goofy picture all year?  The cost is .41 cents each, plus .42 to mail.

Or should I splurge and invest in a CD that has Christmas songs?  That cost is $1.75 each and will also cost .42 to mail.  Expensive, but much more memorable.

A friend of mine heard me pondering this the other day and yelled across the room, "The Christmas CD! I hate those calendars!"  It may be time for me to splurge.

Have you ever received a gift from a business around the holidays that was truly memorable and appreciated?  What would you like?

I caution you in advance that this is a rambling post.  I tend to ramble when I read upsetting news and it’s everywhere today that 2700 homes were foreclosed every day – every single day – in July, August, and September.  That’s 248,400 homes – nearly a quarter of a million – gone back to the lender in a three-month period.  This number is absolutely staggering to me.  It’s terrible.  It’s astounding.

Where do these people go when they lose their houses?  I ask because so many landlords now check credit history and the timeliness of past house/rental payments, could they even rent after being evicted?  Do they move in with families?  With friends?  In a van down by the river?

The saddest part is that behind every number is a face – sometimes many faces.  My friend is about to lose her home.  Her mother-in-law has a huge house, but hasn’t even hinted that my friend, her husband, and their two small children could move in.  There’s been no comfort given that they’d at least have a roof over their heads until they can make other arrangements. 

Meanwhile, I’ve advised my friend about forbearance and short sales, but she’s gotten nowhere with it.  You see, the bank won’t talk to her since the loan is in her husband’s name.  She asked me yesterday how long they have to get out once a foreclosure takes place and I told her that sometimes the sheriff shows up with immediate eviction papers, along with a team of people to move belongings into the yard.  She started crying.  However, I believe she should have at least 20 days notice that a public auction is being held so she might have time to find another place to save that public embarrassment.

Embarrassment is probably the reason her husband won’t call the bank.  A Cuyahoga County mom republished a handout that she found at her church yesterday about foreclosure.  The first thing it said was "don’t be embarrassed."

There is help out there for people.  If they’d  just reach for it.

Back in August I wrote for Banks.com that more and more pets are being abandoned when people lose their homes to foreclosure.  It’s a terrible trend when families leave their once-upon-a-time beloved furry friends behind to suffer starvation and death because of our sinking economy.

Newscoma posted about a dog found in her local Hooterville that had been left behind.  If just leaving the dog wasn’t bad enough, the owner left it TIED up so it had no chance of finding help from the kindness of a stranger.

Again, we are seeing pets abandoned with homes as foreclosure rates are on the increase.  The ever-insightful Katherine Coble offers some advice on how we can help,

When you write your mortgage or rent check this month, please consider making a $5 or $10 donation to the Humane Society in your local area. They’re the ones taking in a majority of these animals,and your donation may keep a few cats and dogs alive to be adopted into a home that actually loves them.

Thank you, Kat.  Even if you don’t have $5, every dime helps.  Don’t forget to donate to your local animal shelter!

Note: I’m not advocating that people just let their pets "loose" when they move away and abandon them either. If you can’t take your pet with you or can no longer afford it, please please take it to your local animal shelter so they can try to find a new home. There are no-kill shelter across the country. Find one near you here.

I just read the most discouraging news from The Ground Floor, the web log for the Urban Land Institute.  They are predicting the real estate market to hit the bottom in 2009 and continue to flounder through 2010.  From the article,

"Commercial real estate faces its worst year since the wrenching 1991–1992 industry depression," conclude industry experts interviewed for the report, which projects losses of 15 percent to 20 percent in real estate values from the mid-2007 peak. "Only when property financing gets restructured will pricing recorrect so we can find the floor, and this transition could wipe out companies and people," says one respondent interviewed for the report. 

The report went on to say that if you are an investor planning to purchase (i.e., not sitting still like they advise), focus on the coastal areas with 24-hour cities, buy distressed condos near urban areas, and go green to cut high energy expenses.

This really is an outstanding time for anyone who wants to be a player in real estate investing to pay attention.  With the distressed sales now available, banks and mortgage companies do NOT want to hold on to properties so I’m seeing prices plunge.  And if what The Ground Floor is reporting holds true, 2009 should be even more spectacular for investors.

The Ground Floor has many other interesting articles including a review of Presidential Candidate John McCain’s Housing Resurgence Plan, fixing the nation’s infrastructure deficit with the next $700 billion, and many more.

Photo from Cape San Blas Real Estate Blog.

Photo from Premier Property Group, Florida.

I understand that this is different depending upon what part of the country you live in, but the question came up this week from our state association of Realtors – who picks the title company?

My broker talked about it in our meeting this morning – he threw the question out nonchalantly adding, "This should be easy for you seasoned agents."

I answered in my head, "Whoever the client chooses to use."

I was partly correct, but learned something new.  The party paying the cost of the Title search and Title insurance actually has the right to request where the transaction will close and who will close it.  We have found in general that when one or the other is paying, split closings are still commonplace, but it was news to me that the person paying title could hold the other’s feet to the fire.

During the Title search, the closing company determines that a property is free from all defects, liens and encumbrances except those which are listed as exceptions in the policy or are excluded from the policy’s coverage. Once a Title insurance policy is issued, it covers losses and damages suffered if the title is unmarketable. The policy also provides coverage for loss if there is no right of access to the land. These are the basic coverages and expanded residential owner’s policy can be purchased that cover additional items of loss.

Realtor Cindy Jones of Northern Virginia shares a story about a friend whose neighbor tried to claim ownership of part of her land. 

A few years ago a new landowner in the Shenandoah Valley approached my neighbor and I to suggest that the property where our houses were located was actually part of his land and he intended to "take back" the property. My neighbor who had owned his house since the original land had been subdivided knew that neither of our homes or land were on any part of the new landowner’s property.  The new landowner was insistent and let us know his plans to run a road right through our property.

Fortunately, the issue was quickly resolved through the Title company,

All of the land transfer records were checked, all the signatures confirmed and his claim was not valid.

Make sure that when you buy a home, you pay the extra $35(ish) to protect YOU from title issues because typically the lion’s share ($500 up) of a title policy is to protect the mortgage lender from future liability.

I just read about a program implemented by the city of Nashville, Tennessee to help inspire the slobs of home ownership to clean up their acts.  The Shame on You program puts pictures of properties that are overgrown, shabby, trashed, or otherwise in violation of city codes on the local government access cable show.

Along with photos of the home, the following is printed:

Do you know who owns this property at 28 North Hill Drive?

"This property is in violation of Metro Code.

"Shame on this property owner!"

The program is apparently working as two property owners responded quickly once the ads went up.  I told my pal Ivy that we should ask our own city management to do this for our town. Unfortunately, she may be right when she says that’s all they’d be doing because there are soooo many shabby properties in the state’s biggest subdivision that there’d be little time for anything else.

On the other hand, perhaps that’s all the more reason to do it!