Lisa Lewis ~ Agent Fayetteville NC ~ 910-578-2359

There is a man in Phoenix, AZ who is throwing a Foreclosure Party. His premise is, he can perhaps bring a bright spot to an otherwise dismal situation by having a free dinner party, at his home. He is buying all the food and refreshments and he has placed an ad on Craig's list inviting those that have lost a job or are facing foreclosure to come to his home for a free meal and fellowship. His words basically said the only way this country is going to thrive is to help each other.

Is that a concept or what? If we all just help each other out, we will all benefit. It seems too simple to be true, but could it really work? I don't know, but I do know if we don't make the attempt at some small level, we can never reach a higher level of community service.

Found Connection

I am once again whole. Although my Blackberry took a little vacation, it has returned home, no more to roam. If you weren't aware, I am also a Postal worker at night. It seems my phone ended up in a hamper bound for another city. A good Samaritan returned it to a supervisor and we're together once again. (My Blackberry and I)

No resolutions here, but I vow to be more responsible with my cell phone. I also vow to use it to connect to those who sat in there so long without being contacted. Being without it has been a miserable experience. But I learned a valuable lesson.

How many of you, could call 5 people from memory? I found out the hard way that my memory is slipping. There was a time I could rattle off my entire family's phone numbers without pause. Those days are gone. Perhaps maturity (old age) had a little to do with it too.

I also missed my e-mail notifications. They used to annoy me, but I depend on them a bit more than I should. I remember when the laptop was the preferred method of mobile internet use, but it seems so bulky now.

Trivial though it may seem I even missed the camera portion of the phone. Yesterday, I missed a great photo opportunity of the kids in the snow. So remember "You never miss your water, until the well runs dry." I'm glad to have running water once again.

Loreena Yeo published a blog pertaining to connecting via the telephone.While I agree with everything she had to say, her blog came at an awful time for me. I LOST my Blackberry.

Perhaps that statement was LOST on some of you. MY BLACKBERRY is gone!

Now I know why my husband hates it so. I am totally lost without it and I have been going through withdrawal from my "Crackberry" for the last two days. I had an idea how important it was, but I wasn't aware of how much I depended on it.

It's just a phone some may say, but I say not so. I monitored three e-mail accounts, entered all my son's and my appointments, and had numerous, difficult to recover phone numbers, and e-mail addresses. My provider does not provide back-up contacts so they are gone forever.

I am now faced with recovering those contacts, while going through withdrawal. I will have to travel to a couple of different states to recover some of them. Anybody up for a road trip?

Who says Christmas is just for children? If we remember the "reason for the season" Christmas was celebrated because of the birth of one child. Celebrating the birth of Christ is for all, young and not so young.

It gives me joy to give presents, but this year my joy will be lessened by my pocketbook. But I will still get joy watching my children and grandchildren open their presents. I have learned, no matter how many presents they get, they still want something else. So this year I am not going to beat myself up about not getting them every thing they want. They actually just want to be with the people that they love and love them back. (They just don't know it yet!)

So my advice to all is to remember Jesus on his birthday, concentrate on what you already have, and don't worry about what you don't. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Are you aware that Self-Help does residential loans? Until recently I thought they were only accepting applications for small business loans.

This may be helpful information for your clients who have "less than perfect" credit. Self-Help still has guidelines, but they may be less stringent that conventional lenders.

The information contained hereafter was obtained from the Self-Help website.

Self-Help Programs

Portfolio Loans

For homebuyers whose financing needs can't be met by other lenders, or homeowners needing to refinance, portfolio loans offer a flexible and fair alternative. Compared to other sub-prime loans within the industry, Self-Help portfolio loans provide reasonable interest rates with extremely low fees and without private mortgage insurance. Based on employment and credit stability, clients may qualify for 90%, 97% and even 100% financing. These loans offer flexibility around such issues as debt-to-income ratios, delinquencies on credit, lack of credit history, and outstanding collections. These loans work well in conjunction with local second mortgage programs. Down payment assistance is sometimes available.

Specialty Loans

North Carolina Housing Finance Agency

First-Time Homebuyer Program

Low and moderate-income prospective homebuyers with a stable credit history will benefit from the below-market fixed rates on these conventional and government loans.

USDA Loans

Qualifying low and moderate-income rural homebuyers may benefit from this 100%-plus
loan-to-value (LTV) option, and still get a low interest rate.

Manufactured Homes

Purchase and refinance loans for existing doublewide homes built after 1994. Financing up to 95% of the home's value.

For more information go to www.self-help.org