Dolly O'Brien

I was watching the news this morning and saw a report on home foreclosure. This young couple bought their first home two years ago. At that time, they were both working. He lost his job. They, of course, fell behind. They contacted their mortgage company, Chase, to see what could be worked out. Chase suggested forbearance, but they were turned down because of the husband not having a job. He did find another job. They managed to save a little less than $2000. They contacted Chase again, and were told they owed about $2000 in arrearage plus another $2500 in legal fees. They were turned down, yet again. It was foreclosed on October 30, 2008.

This is exactly why we are in this economic turndown. The solution seems so simple to me. Forgive the legal fees, either accept the monies that they have raised, or tack the difference to the end of the loan (in other words, rework the loan). If this had been done, we wouldn't be looking at another REO property hitting the market, to languish on the market for months or years, losing value for all of the properties surrounding it. Ultimately, losing revenue for the local municipality. Maybe it is a simplistic solution, but maybe we have been over thinking the solution. Maybe what we need is people helping people to make it through this difficult time that we are all facing. I am tired of reading articles about short sales. I want to see how we can help some people stay in their homes.

So, what is our money being used for?

For a number of years, Coldwell Banker Hubbell Briarwood has been assembling the data and putting out a comprehensive quarterly market report. It correlates all of the MLS data regarding active listings, average list price, number of sales, average sale price, and average time on market. It also compares the current quarter to the same quarter of the previous year. The data is divided by MLS areas (school districts).

LANSING CITY LIMITS 7/1/08 - 9/30/08 7/1/07 - 9/30/07 %

3rd Quarter 3rd Quarter Difference

LANSING - 01 NW

Total Active Residential Listings 313 395 -21%

Average List Price $84,031 $92,453 -9%

# Sales 86 92 -7%

Average Sale Price $55,586 $70,271 -21%

Average Market Time 65 58 Plus 7 Days

LANSING - 03 NE

Total Active Residential Listings 286 304 -6%

Average List Price $81,818 $96,976 -16%

# Sales 86 83 4%

Average Sale Price $60,172 $80,677 -25%

Average Market Time 78 62 Plus 16 Days

LANSING - 05 SW

Total Active Residential Listings 458 479 -4%

Average List Price $94,718 $105,973 -11%

# Sales 138 106 30%

Average Sale Price $61,288 $84,514 -27%

Average Market Time 69 56 Plus 14 Days

LANSING - 07 SE

Total Active Residential Listings 363 394 -8%

Average List Price $83,820 $92,843 -10%

# Sales 105 89 18%

Average Sale Price $61,740 $81,573 -24%

Average Market Time 78 84 Less 6 Days

LANSING SUMMARY

Total Active Residential Listings 1420 1572 -10%

Average List Price $86,097 $97,061 -11%

# Sales 415 370 12%

Average Sale Price $59,697 $79,259 -25%

Average Market Time 73 65 Plus 8 Days

THIRD QUARTER - AVERAGE SOLD LIST PRICE TO SALE PRICE COMPARISON

Lansing City Limits Avg List Price Avg Sale Price % Ratio

Lansing - 01 NW $59,091 $55,586 94.07%

Lansing - 03 NE $63,050 $60,172 95.44%

Lansing - 05 SW $64,010 $61,288 95.75%

Lansing - 07 SE $65,025 $61,740 94.95%

Here is the link for the complete report: http://www.dollyobrien.com/Lansing_Area_Homes/page_2130079.html

I’ve been a Realtor for over 15 years. The area that I live and do business in is at the edge of four different Boards. From the very beginning, I have tried to join other Boards because of where I live and do business. The rule has been that everyone in that office must be a member of that board. Not everyone in my office is interested in paying the additional charges to join a Board that they probably would use only on a very limited basis or not at all.

Over the years, I have paid to have my listings inputted in the appropriate MLS. That gets my sellers the needed exposure in that particular MLS area. However, it does not give me the access to the sold information that is so important in helping the seller determine a realistic price for their home.

It is beginning to change. The Realtor Boards on the west side and southeast side of the state have combined their MLS information to make it more accessible to Realtors in their areas. That is not happening in my area. I was in a branch office in Williamston where the all of the office members had joined another Board. When they closed our branch office and moved us to other offices in the company, that Board cancelled our membership because we were no longer in one office. I have a personal LLC. When I talked with the Board about joining them under my LLC, I was told that I would have to resign my membership in the Greater Lansing Association of Realtors (my primary board) in order to join them. I was told that they would check the GLAR membership roster to make sure that I had resigned. I then contacted another of the adjoining Associations, explained the problem and; wonder of wonders; was told it wouldn’t be a problem. I think that the declining realtor population had an effect on that Association’s decision. Also, the information, that the assorted Boards of Realtors are trying to protect, is available on many sites, including zillow, local assessor’s websites, etc.

In this age of instant information, I find it very frustrating to have to deal with the restrictions other Realtor Boards put on outside realtors attempting to join their board and have MLS access. I am licensed for the state of Michigan; I should be able to have access to all data regarding the listing and sold data for the state. I am a strong advocate for a statewide MLS. What do you think?

I was watching Good Morning America Tuesday morning and Elizabeth Leamy reported on the obscure process of credit rescoring. So, if you are considering buying a home, you need to be prepared. Now is the time to examine your credit and make any fixes that you can. Credit scores are computer generated. Your credit score is The Number of how likely you are to pay off “Future Debt”, by how well you paid off “Past Debt”. If your credit score is not what you think it should be, then the first step is to examine your credit report. The old computer adage “Garbage In, Garbage Out”, very definitely holds true.

Some of the common errors of credit reports are:

1. Medical bills that the insurance companies paid late or didn’t pay at all

2. Bankruptcies and tax liens that are not yours

3. Someone else’s unpaid accounts

4. Your accounts that were paid on time, but are not on your credit report If you find any of these errors on your credit report, there is an obscure process called “Credit Rapid Rescoring”. Rapid rescoring is a service offered by local credit bureaus. It is available only through mortgage lenders and brokers. To fix these problems, you will need to provide proof of the errors on your credit report. A rapid rescoring expert can research your claims and gather written documentation. The expert forwards your proofs to the three national credit bureaus and asks for a rescore. In 24 to 72 hours, your credit report is corrected and your credit score rises as a result. It could be a substantial amount, depending on the correction. Please do not be taken in by the “so called” credit repair scams.

Here is the link to that report:

Ready, Set, Rapid Rescoring

http://abcnew.go.com/Videa/playerIndex?id=6079187

I lived for 23 years in a small rural town. Bancroft had a "Spook House" that the local Lions Club put together with help from the town kids. They helped build the sets, designed their own costumes, and played some of the parts in the Spook House. The Lions Club also put on a Halloween party for all of the children. Then the local children went "Trick or Treating". Some of the homes and yards were decorated for Halloween and some of the homeowners dressed up in costumes when handing out "Treats". Parents walked their children around the town, greeting their neighbors as their children yelled "Trick or Treat".

We always went driving around looking for those special houses that really decorated for the holiday. They actually decorated for all of the holidays. Please share with all of us, pictures of those really "Fun" homes. Email them to me and I will post them on my website DollyOBrien.com for all of us to enjoy. I will choose 7 of the best pictures and then you can vote on them for the Best Halloween Scene of 2008!!!

To view more great Halloween Scenes, go to http://www.dollyobrien.com/Best_Halloween_Scenes/page_2132468.htm