Jennifer Filzen

Last December, I was in a presentation that showed this graphic outlining the global economy as it's tied in with our emotions. I'm curious, where do you think we are on this graphic right now in August, 2009?

On June 11, 2008, Wasson's hosted its first Foreclosure Forum. Why? Because Wasson's is the rare vendor that deals with all sectors that deal with foreclosure-public safety, insurance, lenders, real estate agents, real estate attorneys, and city government-and we wanted to improve the lines of communication between all groups.

Due to the popularity of the first Foreclosure Forum, we hosted our second annual forum on May 14, 2009. Again, everyone from all sectors were invited to share information about newer legislation, issues, finding answers, and resolving bottlenecks in the process. The meeting was a success and many attendees exchanged business cards, hoping to keep contact with their newly found allies.

Among the attendees were two key figures who offered to keep these meetings going: Harold Wolgamott of the City of Gonzales, and Kevin Stone of the Monterey County Association of Realtors. They intend to host monthly or quarterly meetings that will handle issues specifically related to foreclosed properties.

In the meantime, I'm kicking off this blog and will be posting it on WordPress, ActiveRain, Facebook and Twitter-hoping it will be useful to the general population of professionals who buy, sell, lend, maintain, service, or monitor foreclosed properties.

In all truth, I don't know where to start. I am NOT a realtor, however, I hope that my information provides you with some value. Knowledge is meant to be shared, and if you think I'm missing key elements, I hope you'll correct me if you see any glaring errors or omissions.

First, if you are a Real Estate Agent/Broker, you want to keep the following circle of people in your lines of communication:

The Buyer

The Seller

The Asset Manager

The Title Insurance Company

The Attorney

The City's Building Department

The Lender/Bank

Why? Because all of these sectors have pieces of the puzzle that need attention, and when you notify them what is happening, they can return the favor by providing you additional nuggets of valuable information on that property.

Now, let's take a look at the circle of people the Buyer/Seller wants to communicate with before the purchase/sale of a foreclosed property:

The Real Estate Agent/Broker

The Real Estate Attorney

The City's Code Enforcement Department

The City's Building Department

The Title Insurance Company

The Lender/Bank

The Insurance Company

To be fair, the City Government needs to communicate with the following sectors:

The Buyer/Seller

The Real Estate Agent/Broker

The Housing Authority

CHISPA

The Code Enforcement Department

The Asset Manager

The Title Insurance Company needs to communicate with:

The Tax Assessor

The Real Estate Agent/Broker

The Asset Closer

The Buyer/Seller

The Lender/Bank needs to communicate with:

The Buyer/Seller

The Real Estate Agent/Broker

The Tax Assessor

The City's Code Enforcement Department

The Insurance Company

The Housing Authority

CHISPA

The Tax Assessor needs to communicate with:

The Lender/Bank

The Title Insurance Company

The City Code Enforcement needs to communicate with:

The Real Estate Agent/Broker

The Lender/Bank

The Buyer/Seller

The Public Safety Departments

Again, these lists are not conclusive. Modify the list if you need to add more people to your communication loop. Ultimately, I hope this list reminds you of the sectors you might be overlooking. Good luck and let me know how it goes. You can email me at jfilzen@wassons.net.

What a week so far! Two very important days have occurred right next to each other. Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, where we are reminded that "I Have A Dream". Today, we inaugurated our first African-American President, Barack Obama. Wow! We have witnessed history, folks.

Our 2008 economy was similar to a devastating wildfire that destroyed indiscriminately. But wildfires have benefits, too. They clear out the old, dead, and weak--allowing for new growth to take place. 2009 is a year of new opportunity, new growth, and new direction.

I urge you to continue your good work. To continue to reuse, recycle, restore, regroup, and re-engage in 2009 to make things better for the good of all.

Here's to President Obama and his new administration. Here's to us. May we continue our progress toward new hopes, new dreams, and restored brother and sisterhood among all communities and all nations.

In the morning I meditate. It gives me a good start to my day and I use a deck of spiritual cards to guide my daily actions. The card I keep pulling up time and time again is the "Make a Decision" card.

In my brain, I've argued with the card. I say, but I don't have anything to decide upon. WRONG! Every day offers choices. I can choose to have a positive attitude. I can choose to behave with integrity. I can choose to take care of my health. I can choose where or when to spend my money. Each day, each moment, has a decision associated with it.

So, instead of refusing the "Make a Decision" card, I thought I'd accept it. Today, I'm making a decision to be openly receptive to change. Usually, I resist change, but as we saw in an earlier Active Rain blog, the only thing constant is change. So, if change is on the horizon for me, I gladly welcome it into my life.

Who knows? It may be a change for the better. I'll only know if I accept it.

In the morning I meditate. It gives me a good start to my day and I use a deck of spiritual cards to guide my daily actions. The card I keep pulling up time and time again is the "Make a Decision" card.

In my brain, I've argued with the card. I say, but I don't have anything to decide upon. WRONG! Every day offers choices. I can choose to have a positive attitude. I can choose to behave with integrity. I can choose to take care of my health. I can choose where or when to spend my money. Each day, each moment, has a decision associated with it.

So, instead of refusing the "Make a Decision" card, I thought I'd accept it. Today, I'm making a decision to be openly receptive to change. Usually, I resist change, but as we saw in an earlier Active Rain blog, the only thing constant is change. So, if change is on the horizon for me, I gladly welcome it into my life.

Who knows? It may be a change for the better. I'll only know if I accept it.