Foreclosures and Short Sales

I am of the mind that if you agree to pay someone (even a bank) an amount of money for something, you should pay. That being said I also believe that consumers do agree to terms that are unfair at times because they do not know any better. And we had a bunch of Mortgage brokers writing loans that were not good for the consumer and with no regard for the actual ability for consumers to repay. The mortgage brokers got their money when they resold the loan. Even the banks that purchased these loans from the brokers repackaged and sold the loans to investors and made money even if the loans were toxic. OK, so even people that know nothing about lending understand enough to know that the system is pretty messed up.

Banks are forgiving barrowers, and some are speculative investors that built less than good quality. Don't get caught up in the feeding frenzy. As Realtors© let us do our job. Let's protect home values as best we can. Try other tactics before asking the Seller to compete on price alone.

•· Educate Sellers on how to properly present their properties

•· Do not try to compete on price alone. If you have a property with unique offerings, highlight and market what sets the property apart from the masses

•· Be sensitive to the sellers time line

•· Perhaps it will take longer to sell a home

•· Perhaps for some, selling their home should wait till short sales are absorbed

•· Be more concerned with your sellers needs than your own, sure we need to feed our families, but let's not do it at the cost of driving prices to the basement. (Here in Teton Valley we can eat potatoes and venison).

I am aware that in some areas the price of Real Estate had become so expensive that owning a home was out of reach for a lot of people. A correction in the cost of home ownership was needed.

And the more I learn the less know.