My mother, Myrna Haas, who is also a REALTOR in Wichita, KS is also a breeder of Bichon Frise dogs (we jokingly and lovingly refer to them as bitchin' frizzies). She's been breeding them for roughly 20 years and has some really fantastic dogs that are treated like a part of the family.
If you ever know of anyone who is looking for a reputable breeder, this is one! She's had her dogs go all over the United States to new, loving owners.
A recent post on Zillow has many people commenting on this topic. I did too but because Zillow limits you to 2000 characters or less, I'm going to flesh out my answer here on this site. For those readers who don't know yet, a short sale is a real estate transaction where the house being sold has more debt against it than what it is being sold for. Therefore, the house is selling for short what is owed.
There is no one, single best answer for everyone. Typically a short sale has less effect on your credit score than "deed in lieu" or foreclosure but not all short sales are successful and they often depend on the between what is owed and what someone's trying to pay for the property - as well as whether additional liens are posted against the property. Appraisals can also derail a sale if the appraisal comes in above what is being offered and the bank won't budge. For them, depending on their financial evaluation of what they'll eventually lose when comparing the short sale acceptance over a BPO (broker price opinion) that states the house is worth more, might lead them to not close the deal and force the foreclosure. It's really necessary to sort out why the person is in default and then start looking for what will be the best remedy. If the seller has other assets other than the house, it might be harder to get a short sale approved. Bankruptcy for some is an option, but also can cause some issues that are long term like foreclosure.
For some people it is detrimental to their job to go the route of foreclosure, many companies do credit checks on potential employees and it could limit someone's future employment opportunities to go this route. Other people can lose an existing job because of foreclosure; such as bank employees, jobs that require security clearances, and other financial services employees.
Loss mitigation departments are typically separate from foreclosure and even short sale departments. Each tends to be its own silo within a bank and often are in different states. Welcome to the world of call centers. We've been working with many short sales in our area and it is imperative that people understand what is needed to get the bank's attention. When the financial storm hit the banks laid off employees, so staffing is short. Then the banks got hit again with the recent refinancing wave with not enough staff to handle it, and now the short sale and foreclosure waves are hitting. Working these kinds of deals requires a lot of patience and due diligence on the part of the seller, buyer, and agents (or others) involved.
An attorney and an accountant should be consulted. In some states there are taxes due on the forgiven debt, even if the IRS has the debt relief act in place for national taxes and extended it through 2012. WA State just had their REET (real estate excise tax) on debt forgiveness removed for this year with the Dept of Revenue (DOR) only just making the change last month. It will likely be reviewed annually.
Bottom line, be sure you're working with someone who understands and can navigate the process and be sure to talk to ALL the right people that can help you figure it out. I've read a staggering statistic that 9 out of 10 people in foreclosure never sought out outside assistance. Considering the larger number of people going through this right now than we've seen in many, many years the word should get out that there are some alternatives to consider.
If an agent tells you that they have a separate fee for short sale negotiating outside of their listing fee, walk away and find someone else. I've confirmed with the National Assoc. of REALTORS that this is an unlawful practice. Be sure to check credentials of firms that say they are negotiators or foreclosure specialists.
Last weekend, my partner, Michael, and I went to support a friend's appearance with his band, Ambience, at a South Lake Union event that was sponsored by the SLU Chamber of Commerce and promoted by the folks at Vulcan who would love for you to buy one of their condominiums in this up and coming downtown area. At the event several local vendors were displaying information about their businesses to those attending with the biggest focus being on the Arthur Murray dance school who was hosting the space. One of the vendors we met was Joel VandenBrink of Two Beers Brewing Co, a Seattle based brewer who is just beginning to reach out to the local pub communities to distribute product.
According to Joel, their beers are in several north end Seattle pubs such as 74th Street Ale House, Sully's Snowgoose Inn up in Phinney Ridge, and more. I recommended that he head south a little bit too and hit up Whistle Stop Ale House in Renton as well as Columbia City. I was reassured that they're going to be doing just that along with a tour of Tacoma pubs in the next 1-2 weeks with one, The Red Hot, already drafting and there is one location on the Eastside too. The link above will give you all of their current distribution spots.
We were able to sample the Echo IPA and the 20:20 Blonde, and were duly impressed. I also liked that on the little flyers that were handed out the following notes were printed:
Take some time.
Look at the world.
Gain a new perspective.
Along with those great tag lines, when I asked Joel about where the name came from, he said, "it's the idea that anyone can sit down across the table from another person over a couple of beers and talk about anything." Now, that concept is something I can drink to. Cheers to you, Joel, and good luck with your budding brewing business!
Today I want to make others aware of a program that I learned about via Julie Kadingo, a member on the Georgetown Yahoo Groups site, a group that one of our team members, Robin Tomazic, is involved in since she lives in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle. This program is pretty darn cool and a great idea for sharing the wealth of all the fruit trees in Seattle that go underutilized each year. It was fantastic that this program reminder came out as I've been considering putting together a fruit tree and garden goodies exchange in my own residential area so that lots of neighbors can benefit from a wider variety of plantings and any excess can make it to local food banks instead of in the compost pile or rotting in the garden plot.
Many homes in the Greater Seattle area have apple, plum, or pear trees that can produce hundreds of pound of fruit. Owners may turn a pound or two in pies or jars of applesauce; however, since a tree drops its entire yield in a matter of days/weeks, most fruit turns to waste, either as "car bombs" or "lawn carpets."
In 2008 volunteers from the Fruit Harvest Program collected 18,000+ pounds from seven neighborhoods. The fruit was donated to food banks, meals programs, shelters, residential facilities, programs for children and youth, and senior programs.
If you are interested in helping this year:
**as a tree owner who'd like your tree to be on this years map for donating all or some of the fruit.
**as a tree owner who'd like to attend workshops on caring for trees (pruning, planting, managing pests.
**anyone who'd like to learn how to can, make jam, dry fruit, participate in community kitchens where everyone brings what they have and makes meals that can be frozen for your family or donated.
**anyone who'd like to volunteer to pick fruit in the Georgetown area, store fruit, donate a ladder for other volunteers who are picking fruit...
**anyone who is curious
For more information:
Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle at http://www.gleanit.org/
Solid Ground Community Fruit Tree Harvest
http://www.solid-ground.org/Programs/Nutrition/Lettuce/Pages/TheCommunityFruitTreeHarvest2007.aspx
Thanks to you, Julie, for sharing such a great program!
One of my favorite restaurants in Renton is the 3 year old Fin N Bone owned by Jerry and Yelina Jackson. As I was researching a place to have lunch with a staging/design colleague of mine, I learned that they offer free WiFi at their place. I am sooooo thrilled! Jerry brings some southern style cooking to the restaurant but it's also married with many NW flavors. Last fall I was loving his TurDuckEn, the Turkey, Duck and Chicken dish where all 3 of them are stuffed inside of each other along with stuffing. It was wonderful and some of the best comfort food I'd had in a long time.
They've got meeting spaces that can be rented, but I'm excited to hear that WiFi is there so that I can have smaller luncheon appointments where we can access internet as needed. Today I'll be coaching this colleague/friend on how to use social media networking to promote her staging classes. Andy Capelluto of School of Staging, also an AR member, has had the benefit of title companies helping to promote her classes and staging designations in the past but that has changed some with the title companies altering how they offer courses. So, she's soon to learn tips and tricks of the trade.
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