Susan Ani

The local high school here in my hometown of Evanston, Illinois, is not only supporting, but improving upon its program for students that prepares them for a career in (drum roll, please, for this trade that keeps us Realtors on the roads and byways as we serve our clients!) Automotive Technology.

According to a recent story in the "Evanston RoundTable" newspaper, a high school alum and his family have gifted the Auto Tech program $100,000 to improve the offering, a move that resulted in the high school's being accredited as an Automotive Service Excellence school (ASE) through the NATEF (National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation).

Students at the high school can focus on either electronics/electricity or suspension and steering. They benefit from the school's partnerships with local businesses and community colleges.

Proud of my local high school for offering students a viable career path that might be a wonderful choice for them.

My modest little home is a townhome in a complex of 36 neighbors who ALWAYS see eye to eye, NEVER disagree about anything, and ALWAYS have the right answers to any challenge that comes along. (and yes, I have a bridge to sell you.)

The most recent situation in which our homeowner association leadership had the right answer (no need to investigate, because the answer is obvious, right??) was this: what does our community of 36 owners need to do to become FHA approved for mortgage lending?

In brief, considerable time and effort was expended to begin a certification process for FHA mortgage approval, much gnashing of teeth, pulling out of hair, and frustration with some homeowners who seemed uncooperative in supplying some documentation that was deemed necessary to the certification process.

Final Answer - I inquired with my brokerage company's finance arm, with my question going right to the top of the organization. The answer came back immediately and without hesitation: our townhouse properties are already eligible for FHA financing, no certification process is required (which at the least saved us $1000 in fees to have an FHA certification done).

The group think had taken over, assuming the road to FHA eligibility would be difficult. And within one day it became a non-issue. My point is this; I think it's important to constantly challenge the assumptions that we sell ourselves, or that other people make and expect us to follow along in lockstep.

This lesson I recently learned is not limited to FHA financing, of course. It's ANYTHING. I try to remind myself to challenge the group think, to ask why something that is a tradition is the best way to do a task. You get my drift.

Here's my challenge to other AR friends - what have you learned is not so wise about conventional wisdom in your real estate work? A fun way to start the new week. Thanks for sharing your own stories, in advance.

There was a lively conversation amongst agents today about a blog post from an agent who wondered about the fairness of a homeowner being pursued or penalized in any way, when that homeowner walks away from a property that has lost value since purchasing that property.

Indeed, I have a personal acquaintance who had exactly that plan in mind, to simply close the door and walk away from the home after watching its value slide after a handful of years of ownership. The negative repercussion of such an action were numerous and significant: that owner's credit score would be in tatters (and yes, it does matter about your credit score, even when it comes to getting a job, or keeping your credit card interest rate at a reasonable level, to say nothing of the multi-year lock-out from getting another mortgage loan in the future), and it would be a vacant property for many months before the lender could regain control of the property to secure it and ultimately find a new buyer for it. In the meanwhile, the neighbors to this property would be dealing with an abandoned property, and all the problems that accompany that situation.

Here is all I want to tell you, if you find yourself in a bad situation with the value of your home as compared to the mortgage note (or notes) you signed on this home. If you can well afford to pay the mortgage every month, you like your home, have no reason to move to a new location, why risk ruining your housing future for 7 years (Fannie Mae has promised to BLOCK anyone from getting a new mortgage for 7 years if the homeowner simply walks away from the property and the loan), facing the possibility of having that lender you want to "stiff" simply go to court and get a judgment against you that will follow you for the rest of your life if you life in a recourse state, and putting your neighbors into a position of having to worry about an abandoned property in their midst? Stay put.

If your home is worth less than what you owe on it (you are "under water" or "upside down"), and you are financially challenged for any reason that causes you to not be able to pay your mortgage every month, get mortgage counseling, talk to your lender, talk to your tax accountant, talk to your attorney, and get the right advice that you deserve. There is a way out of the dilemma that you are in, but walking away isn't it.

I just inherited a client who is living a nightmare, through no fault of his own. His employer has relocated him to my community of coverage from out of state. The client leased a nice condo unit in a popular building. That was three weeks ago. This client is now being forced to move out. Want to guess why?

Yep, the condo owner is in foreclosure, and the unit is scheduled to be auctioned at sheriff's sale very soon.

Yes, I will be showing this client a rental condo or two, in addition to some rental apartments, but it was a moment of agent-client bonding when I sat at the computer with this client and checked the online recorder of deeds file for those condos we plan to visit.

Rental clients are a much larger percentage of our business in my broker's company of late, and the newest "wrinkle" in helping a tenant on the hunt for a new home is verifying the clear title of the condo for rent. And not just a search for foreclosure problems is needed; a condo owner can be putting his tenant at risk if the owner has not been paying the condo assessments as well. In this state (Illinois), the condo association has the ability to seize the condo unit for nonpayment of assessments, and arrange for its own tenant.

Just thought I should pass this along as a "heads up" to my colleagues out there across the country, as well as folks who are searching for a home to rent. Bad things CAN happen to good people (the tenant), but we can minimize the risk by taking a moment to verify a fact or two.

According to the local real estate board for the suburban communities that lie due north of Chicago, the statistics for the first quarter of the year are definitely encouraging.

Single family home sales are up some 59% over the same period of time in 2009.

Homes under contract are up 60% for the entire Chicagoland region.

When I check the daily "hot sheet" for several of the communities that I cover, there are new contracts pending every day. And the price spread is large, from the modest condo unit to the multi-million dollar homes.

Here's hoping that the energy continues past the April 30 deadline for the income tax credit!