Susan Walters

Recently a Michigan Association of Realtors publication posed that question within the text of a piece entitled, A world without...you. My real estate year was hardly going to plan. In fact, even for Michigan, it was badly awry.

Among the many disasters in the road to closings were the usual failures to qualify despite pre-approvals, loss of buyer income, loss of down payment assistance programs, no timely letter of acceptance on short sales, but also the more unusual and unbelievable.

One listing agent removed the CTS status on a property my buyers had bottom lined. All contingencies but financing had already been removed. The agent would not believe that the underwriter on the loan had suffered an aneurysm, was in a coma, and that the reassignment of the loan was going to delay closing by one week. (I admit, that was pretty out there.) Refusing to sign the extension, certain that the issue was really with the buyers and the coma was a ruse, the property was re-staged and held open that weekend. My first-time buyers were terrified. We closed as expected, one week late. At closing, the agent did not greet me or the lender and the sellers were no-shows for an hour - the closing had not been confirmed with them. They were apologetic, kind, and found they had a connection to the buyers. The sellers saved the day but the listing realtor gave our profession a black eye. (I do not know if the underwriter is still with us....)

Another deal, a drawn-out bank closing where I was representing the buyers, was delayed first for massive gas leaks both inside and outside the building. The saga continued in waiting for frost laws for heavy equipment traveling over roadways to be lifted, delaying the bank's installation of the county-required new well - then the water quality test failed twice before passing on the last strike. Eventually, just days before contingencies were to be removed, the ghost of the previous owner was revealed to the buyers by a neighbor - suicide in the garage - where they had planned to extend the living space for their master bedroom. No one can make this stuff up. The offer was withdrawn.

I won't detail what went on with the purchase that followed and closed for those buyers, only that I questioned whether the entire industry, sellers, lenders, appraisers, were all losing their grip on reality. My tenuous hold frayed and I seriously considered quitting.

The stories of 2008 seller/buyer dramas could take up many more pages but those two stand out.

So when I read the August 2008 MAR issue, I felt a real connection. I questioned what failure looked like to me, and I was pretty sure it looked like my real estate career. I began to seek other relevant employment but being Michigan, that was pretty hard to come by.

I stumbled upon what seemed to be a great job - part time, small salary with a title, commission on sales, creativity required. I interviewed and was offered the job. My meager closings were going to get some regular relief with the salaried paychecks. I would continue in real estate full time and supplement with this new position.

About one week later, my husband lost his auto industry job. Panic, then calm, immediately descended upon our household. The worst had happened and it would be OK, for a while. The next week brought the downsizing of my new position right out of existence, leaving me again with a commission only second job to back up my commission only first job. Lightining had struck twice. I decided to resign.

Here is what I learned.

First, relying on someone else to provide a paycheck is foolish. My husband's nearly 20 years of loyalty to his company, where upper management regularly required attendance at seminars on integrity and other lofty goals, may have been misguided. The company had never really internalized the messages itself.

Second, being a corporate employee after being self-employed is nearly impossible. It is stifling, draining, spirit-killing, and not income productive. The only way to make money in this economy, perhaps ever in this world, is to be in control of the results of your own efforts.

What does failure look like? It looked like what I had been doing in real estate in early 2008. Now, it looks like I just needed to focus a bit more. By taking those 20+ hours that I had been spending at the new job and using them effectively on lead generation, lead conversion, prospecting, and followup, I'd soon be on a path to success. Even in Michigan.

That was a lot of learning in a three week time period, perhaps the best business lesson I have ever learned. It all boils down to two things, freedom and control. Freedom - to make my own schedule and decisions, freedom to succeed, and unfortunately, freedom to fail. Control - of my own destiny and income - nobody is going to do it for me. I get it now. I know what I want to be when I grow up. Lucky me, I am already there - I am a Realtor.

I believe Santa Claus is Barack Obama.

I welcomed a comment today from a reader on a blog I wrote a while back about the political process in this election season. I specifically noted my daughter who is studying AP Government with a wonderful teacher who will not reveal his political leanings so that all students will feel free to express their opinions. As a result, she has developed a very good method for evaluating and questioning political facts put before her. She will happily (gleefully) tell us when we miss the point or if we are wrong.

My daughter and I watched all of the debates together. I read the news in print and online, she went to class and read the news online (print is so old-fashioned), and we both kept each other informed.

Following is the comment from a reader, and my response. The commenter's name has been eliminated to protect her identity.

***Your candidate is untested and we really know very little about him except for the details of his personal life. A vote for him is a vote in the dark.

And my response:

***I appreciate your point of view (-protected identity-) but after weighing all the options of each candidate (and their running mates) I have no fear in voting for Obama. For years I said that if I were to leave my Democratic base I would strongly consider John McCain since until recent years he has been so solid and sensible but I don't believe he has what our country needs now. Choosing Sarah Palin was the last straw. As someone recently commented in a political discussion about her, she is dumb and arrogant, a very dangerous combination. We DON'T know if she would ever be called upon to assume the presidency but I DO know that if Joe Biden were called upon, we could rest easy. With Sarah Palin....no comment. I say give the "new guy" Barack Obama, with education, Washington experience, and a straight-laced family a chance. The negative ads? Read the fine print. If you want to, you will see the truth.

P.S. My husband was laid off from his job yesterday after 20 years of exemplary service with the same automotive firm. We have moved several times for his company, including internationally. He has held positions in multiple departments and was doing the work of 3 employees, about to take on the work of a 4th employee when he was hit yesterday. Three months ago he received an excellent performance review and a raise. His department was growing, profitable, well-funded. He is 53 years old, 1.5 years from eligibility for 1/2 pension. I am quite sure that the CEOs of both Ford and Visteon made handsome salaries and welcomed many additional perks during the time of his employment and during these last few years of downsizing. We are not in the $5,000,000 middle class that John McCain talks about. (We know how many homes we own - one, sort of, via mortgage - and cars, total: one 2007 Mercury Mariner - minimally equipped and bought as a demo, one 1999 Ford Taurus, one 1987 Ford Tempo.) We are not even the $250,000 "Joe the plumber" that John McCain talks about. Just like Christmas morning, I prefer to be surprised and delighted with the unknown. The unknown/untested is Barack Obama. I believe it beats the known of John McCain - you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. We know all of his tricks.

John McCain pulled out of Michigan because he has no solution for the problems that plague us. Michigan embodies the problems that plague the USA, magnified. Seriously degraded manufacturing facilities due to outsourcing. Leader in unemployment since 2006. Foreclosures, bankruptcies, no health care for unemployed workers. As one comic said in his routine recently (it was not funny really), the guy with 18 houses versus the guy with one house - who do YOU relate more to? Who is more likely to understand YOUR position and the positon of most people in the USA? Remember THAT in the voting booth.

*****Now that my husband is unemployed and our financial future is threatened, can I get a bailout? Hmmmm, I thought not. I recently took a part-time job to keep me alive in real estate. If I take a third job I'd be "uniquely American" by President Bush's standards. No thank you, despite your kind words.

Having just commented on a blog about political posts, noting that I would rather alienate potential clients now than after 6 expensive months into a listing or buyer agreement, I am posting this political viewpoint.

How can we NOT have a political viewpoint? This country was founded on democracy; women fought hard to have their voices legally heard and minorities too! Should it be separate from business? Yes, if you cannot be tolerant of another person's reasonable views, but I then wonder how you can be a realtor since we have so many codes of ethics that require us by our licenses to be tolerant of everyone. If you are faking your tolerance, then maybe you should find a new career. Just a thought.

I had a discussion with a realtor in my office the other day who I knew was pretty much aligned with my beliefs and while we were discussing the political climate, another realtor walked by and joined us. I suspected there would not be a similarly amenable conversation should politics continue to be the topic. To my shock and surprise, my first friend came right out and asked our other friend who she was voting for. She hesitated just a moment and stated her choice, then was asked to defend her decision. She did. We nodded, then she said, "Convince me. Why do you feel that your candidate is the right choice?"

That led to a wonderful discussion with each of us voicing our agreements and disagreements, noting that we didn't know all the details of our candidates past votes, for and against. The conversation was lively and extremely civilized. I don't think anyone changed their minds about the other candidate but we all now have a better understanding of why each of us plans to vote the way we plan to vote.

That sixteen year old in the title line? My daughter. She is studying Advanced Placement Government right now in her high school and her teacher has told them they are extremely privileged to be doing so at this point in time, when what they are learning can have such concrete examples. Tonight my daughter and I watched the VP debate and she was able to comment on points I could not have at her age. She knew enough about the topics to be able to refute some facts and question others. At one point, she said, "I read in the Washington Post today..." and I just looked at her.... I know when I was sixteen I was not reading the Washington Post - my family did subscribe to Time and US News & World Report and scores of other publications and I read them all so I wasn't ignorant, but I did not have the fervor I see in my daughter today. This is her future more than any of ours. She cares; she is just too young to vote.

This election is big. Big isn't even a big enough word. Life-changing? For her it could be. Earth-shattering? The consequences could be. Landslide? I hope so. I hope so for her.

So many topics to cover since it was deja vu all over again, receiving a call to do BPOs from a lender who had been very good to me in the past, until my contact there was promoted and a licensed realtor took his place. A very good deal became zero without notice at all. I have fond memories of those days three years ago - the bounty dropped in my lap that at minimum paid my office bill with months of credit in advance and at maximum gave me a double dip no-effort sale and a listing that spawned at least a dozen closed deals beyond the listing itself, plus more opportunity. (I believe I could turn that experience into a "Pursuit of Happiness"-like movie, but I just don't have the time...)

Today, completely out of the blue, I received a call from the same lender, new contact. The rank and file had shifted again and was I interested in being an inventory agent for them in Washtenaw County? Yes!!!!!! (I said quietly.) First, let me say that this lender is not like others looking for inventory agents. They ask for the BPO at the first sign of trouble and don't require updates until the loan is going to sheriff's sale. They'll request a second BPO, pay again, plus let me list if they haven't decided to auction or dispose of it some other way. So different than what I have heard from other BPO realtors!

Well, that FSBO notation in the title relates to this tale, so bear with me. As a newbie in real estate 4 years ago, I took anyone who gave me a second glance and showed them property. No pre-approval? No problem! You want to be an investor? I want to be your best friend!

I learned about the no pre-approval thing quickly but the investor thing took a bit longer. I had one guy who had documents stating he was capable of purchasing several properties in a year's time; I spent inordinate amounts of time showing him property. When he finally bid on one, was countered high, bid back low, and was accepted, he responded, "Oh sh*t!". We went through the inspection process, which you have to know he did not sign off on. One of my superiors said, "Cut him off; he is wasting your time." She was right; I did. I met him once more months later for a coffee to see where he was (he wouldn't sign a buyer agency agreement with just one agent...) - he hadn't bought a thing.

I bring him up in this tale because one of the properties I showed him was a foreclosure where I opened the door before he arrived and decided not to enter. It was scary and I waited. I had no idea how many properties I would enter alone that were far, far worse in the years to come; at least this one was free of eau de confined pet. It had shag carpeting on the backs of the kitchen cabinets that faced the dining area - was that ever in Architectural Digest, ever?! It also had metallic silver wallpaper on many of the walls and all the trimmings you would expect to go with that. In the midst of it all was a warm and fuzzy brick fireplace. That is where the decorating scheme should have begun and ended, but alas, no.

Anyway, my "investor" wasn't interested, despite the price per square foot value. I had no one else to present it to despite the great deal - trust me. I was driving by some time later and a man was in the yard so I decided to stop and ask if he was the homeowner, saying I had seen it at its worst. He proudly showed me the interior and the work yet to be completed and said they would be listing it for resale soon. They had made some good changes but amateur efforts were evident, with staging successes straight from HGTV. No one was going to overlook the fact that they had opted for eliminating the dishwasher in a 3 bedroom family home to give more cabinet space - no one likes to handwash dishes!!! The pebbles in the bathroom sink are not going to make up for that! I left my card.

Well, to pull this ADD post into a coherent picture, I was one of three agents who interviewed to list that property and was ultimately told they were going to FSBO. I had left my marketing plan with them as the other agents probably had too. We gave away our strategies and then were left out in the cold. Payback came full circle today when my lending connection gave me two properties to BPO and one of them was theirs - not the flip, their primary residence. I was shocked but can see how the arrogant attitude led them to this point, if in fact that is what did it. They did not want professional opinions when doing their flip (and made some poor choices), they did not want professional representation when listing their property, and where are they now? Facing a mortgage dilemma....

The DIY thing is so prevalent that many believe they can do anything themselves. Real estate is rarely a DIY thing, particularly in a buyer's market. There are legalities, knowledge of the market regarding buyers and stats, the unbiased view of the property from an outsider, not a friend, relative, or the seat of your pants. A FSBO I talked to today said he would offer realtors 2% - that is worse than what most banks will do! Plus I checked his stats when I got home and he is $25,000 over market besides! I'll still send him mailings with suggestions - that costs me little. I would like the listing in his nighborhood, but I want it on my terms - I won't work for nothing. Been there, done that. I am worth it.

Recently I blogged about a teasing letter we received at our home regarding awards night at Saline High School that suggested our son was up for an award and strongly encouraged our attendance. Friends of his had received the same letter but they were actually LIKELY to receive awards so we were just confused. My son and I attended anyway, just in case.

Kevin is a kid who has learned extraordinarily well, has avoided the typical temptations of youth, besides computer games (death to computer games!) and a senior year girlfriend (we like her - she is motivated, technical like him, success-oriented no matter what it takes, and adorable). He has endured psychological testing to determine that he is decidedly not ADD and that his only real problem is boredom and "you can't make me do it" (damn you psychologist - we already knew that!).

So there we sat at award night wondering if there would be an award. Many of Kevin's dear friends received embarassments of mention, monetary and non-monetary, individuals who were the only recipients of very specific awards, sometimes repeatedly. Congratulations dear friends! There were honor roll awards (nope), specific field of study awards (nope), nice guy/gal awards (nope - though he is), and the departmental awards. Kevin was on the edge of his seat waiting and wanting one of several English department awards - his brilliance had been noted through the years - but how can an award be given to an individual with a sub 3.0 GPA? So many more candidates who put in the time and effort to hand in the homework and get good grades could not be upstaged by someone who shunned the requirements even if they led the discussions and invigorated the classroom. They could not be honored even if they received extra assignments since they had already read all the books in the curriculum and sat in the hallway with advanced reading material, popping in on cue to comment in the classroom discussions on books. The teachers may have known who the best candidates really were but they are bound by rules. The tap on the arm and hello to our son as his AP English teacher left the stage signaled to me that she wished she could have given it to him.

The most egregious example of this sort of thing was a few year's back when our daughter's friend was denied the position of number one graduate because he did not spend enough time in the high school during high school. As I understood it, he did not have the required high school credits - he was taking college courses at the university nearby since he had exhausted the curriculum at the high school. Upon graduation he could have entered the University of Michigan as a senior, age 18. In a "post mortem" or should I say "post mortar board" decision he was awarded first place, not in time for graduation; he got second billing then.

Here's the thing though. High school and even college are not life. They seem that way at the time, but the most brilliant student may turn out to be only a brilliant student - not a good employee and there are absolutely no guarantees about entrepreneurship. Someone who follows the rules is unlikely to take risks - just my opinion - and be an entrepreneur. There is a certain "devil may care" attitude, or "la-di-da" as my husband calls it in regard to my efforts in keeping bills paid, that is REQUIRED in entrepreneurs! If fear were to rule the day, no one would invent that better mouse trap or Microsoft Vista - sorry, wrong analogy.... I truly believe my son will do great things when the constraints are lifted. Time will tell.

Regarding that award, yes he did receive one - the Michigan Promise Award for exemplary performance on standardized testing, required by the state of Michigan. It is worth $4000 and he was in good company with about a quarter of his classmates. I wouldn't sneeze at a $4000 tax-free/company-dollar-free commission these days, would any of you?

Congratulations Kevin! When you hit the really big time I will be sure to blog about you then too. For now, good luck at Michigan Tech. (He applied and was accepted within six days - his ACT score was that good.) It is the perfect school for you Kevin, despite the snowfalls that require six foot poles above the fire hydrants so the firefighters can find them in the ten months of winter.... You are going to love it there! Seriously, you are going to love it there, just as we love you. Now get out of here and raise that GPA. Dad is researching that Arctic-rated parka he had in the Air Force and intends to order it for you. Make a snowman, make a snowfort, make a snow time traveller machine. I trust you can make anything you desire, if given the means. See you at Thanksgiving. Let's stock up on the Ramen Noodle now.