Kalamazoo, MI

Everywhere you look there is doom and gloom and the Democrats are blaming the Republicans, hard to figure they control congress but easy when the other party is in the White House. Can't say either deserve our votes.

Doesn't matter to me, I think they all screwed up and left America holding the bag! Or should I say the bill.

So why smile? Simple, in every market someone figures out how to sell and help people that need help. This market is no exception. It isn't easy but you can still have a great year. You can still list and you can still sell homes.

Today I got a big hug from a seller that thought there wasn't an honest Realtor left! Anyway, that is what she told me. She lost her job...her husband has lost three jobs in three years. Not because they were fired. No, they wanted to work. The jobs were out sourced and their jobs were gone. She worked for the same nursing home but under three different names (owners) in the last four years. So why did she equate honesty and selling? She didn't...she wanted someone to listen and help her family. Nobody was listening or would help unless, in her mind she had some big fancy home with a big paycheck attached to it. Little did she know her price range is what is selling.

This past week she was told they are consolidating shifts. Her and six others would lose their jobs because they had the lowest time with the company. She had been there six years. She was devastated. Her husband out of work, supplemented with his McDonald jobs, she was barely making food and gas now this.

She called 12 real estate companies and nobody called her back! She wanted to sell her home. One company answered and told her they were not taking any more listing because nothing is selling! I didn't ask who...I was tempted.

I was caught off guard when I received the call and the woman said don't hang up...I want to sell my house! I laughed and said, "why would that make me hang up"? She said the last place told her they weren't taking anymore listings and nobody else is calling back. "OK, so why would I hang up?....Other than you didn't call me first"! Then she laughed and said, "is selling homes that hard"?

I explained we have a challenging market so homes have to be priced right or they are not going to sell. If you want to sell we will price your home correctly and somebody will purchase your home...that is how it works.

It turns out to be a short sale. It also turns out that she is in financial trouble and her husband is beside himself, he has always been able to provide for his family. He took a job a McDonald's to keep some money coming in...two different McDonald's, different shifts. That told me a lot.

So why smile? These people kept track of their gas costs for their vehicles to drive to work...$623.00 for the month...they sold a car. They had a yard sale, they are doing what they have to do. I have to tell you it was a very humbling experience to offer these people help and tell them that they would get a dime at close from the sale. I told them I would work with the lender to see if I could get the lender to accept the short sale amount as payment in full. They were thrilled that I would come out to see them. They were also happy that the lender could be paid. You have to smile when you meet people like this. They are losing everything but they still have their dignity and honesty in tack and are thankful.

So why smile? It is simple, in every market, if you are willing to find the methods to sell, homes will still sell. In one market we had interest rates of 18-21% it wasn't easy but home still sold. In this market you have to look for the niches and work them. It isn't easy but homes will sell.

Sellers want to sell and buyers want to buy. Our job is to facilitate the two of them. I have already showed this home 4 times from my list of buyers...one looks like it is going to work. Does the seller care who buys? NOPE! Do the buyers want a good buy? YUP! Keep smiling, working the market. You'll sell homes and make people happy, you'll be smiling too with paycheck in hand!

Are you smiling? Are you helping people understand the market? It is perspective. It is a head game....get your head in the game.

I always was impressed with the manner in which HUD handled their foreclosures. They had (or have) a very detailed, comprehensive, fair system for the purchase of their porperties.

But this year, they've evindently had a reason to switch law firms and then switch back again.

Meanwhile, many of their properties here in SW Michigan are left in limbo. You can't sell them, you can't buy them. They just sit vacant. For months!

I'm very curious as to WHY? Is it because the law firm from whom they pulled the contract has filed a lawsuit that has prevented the continuation of the transfer?

I can think of no other reason. But that would mean that HUD must've had what they felt was a very good reason to pull that contract. OR, they pulled it without realizing the implications. OR they realized the implication and simply didn't care about the waste of time and money.

How many hundreds of HUD homes could've been sold this summer but were not because of some internal legal confusion on the part of HUD?? How much has this cost taxpayers? I wonder too, is the issue just here in SW Michigan or does the problem exist in other areas?

The Internet has given may buyers and sellers the thought that they can buy and sell without a Realtor. Well the truth is they can....the other truth is they also take on all the liability for the paperwork, proper disclosures, negotiating the sale and purchase price and any errors and omissions accidental or not.

If Realtors get sued and they know the rules, regulations, laws and employ professionals to help them close the sale how do you think you will do without training?

It looks simple. Put a sign in the yard and wait for a buyer to find you. Well that used to be the way it was. The Internet changed all that. So now you find the lowest priced Internet listing company and put up a few photos and a sell price and wait for buyers to find you?

Well if it were that simple every Realtor with a website would be selling homes everyday. So that is one part of the puzzle, the Internet. But to be sure marketing of homes is a moving target and even the best of marketing specialists are sometimes puzzled by which method to use to sell and attract buyers.

It only takes one law suit or missed statement on a form to wipe out all the perceived profits that could have been gained by selling on your own. It could cost you your home and jail time if you do something wrong intentionally. The other little issue never mentioned is you probably will end up selling for 6-8% less than if you used a Realtor. The reason buyers think you have room to play you are not paying a Realtor.

I truthfully don't mind sellers selling on their own. In fact one of my companies promotes sellers to do just that, sell without a Realtor. Of course I have another company that is a full service real estate company. Do I find these two companies in conflict? Not at all, my goal is for sellers to sell and buyers to buy. So I take my job very seriously....and I provide all the options possible for sellers and buyers to meet their goals.

I have workshops to help them understand, I offer printed guides to explain key topics. I provide tools to help sellers and buyers meet their goals. Do I think it replaces a Realtor representing buyers and sellers? NO. Do I think that some buyers and sellers can do this without a Realtor? Of course.

Some people have sold properties and purchased properties and have become very proficient at it. They also hire key professionals to help them. Some of the professional investors have learned the hard way that their is no substitute for a professional.

I replace my doctor when I remove my own stitches...which I started doing in a war zone years ago and feel like it is my badge of courage to keep the effort up. If I would ever get an infection...guess what, I would be off to the doctor and tell him I took my own stitches out and look what happened. Will he be happy...NO...will he still treat me...YES and he will charge me too!

So when a seller or buyer makes a mistake or gets himself into a mess guess what...they call a Realtor for advice. Will most still help them? Yes...some won't but that is because of the liability. You see when a Realtor is handling your representation they know what to do in each case and if they don't they have a backup knowledge base...the broker who helps them. When you make a mistake you pay an attorney or you call a professional and you pay them...and sometimes it costs more to correct your mistake.

So if you can imagine a world without a plumber, electrician or carpeting installer...then you probably can imagine a world without Realtors. Consider how many transactions would end in law suits, how many transactions would be lost because of misunderstanding, how many transactions would not close on time?

Without our system of exposing property for sale how would you know which homes are really for sale? I manage my businesses so you will be exposed enough to have some working knowledge to meet your goals.

Now consider this...the Internet has 60 million new pages added to it every day! The pages that were added 3 years ago in most cases are still floating around on the Internet...that does not mean they are accurate. But you might think they are if you never looked at the date they were entered on the Internet.

So just like newspapers you cannot believe everything you read on the Internet. Just like your world would not be the same without a professional or career Realtor that can help process, interrupt, assembly and present information in a manner that helps you meet your goals.

That's may take what is yours?