Tammy Stone~ "Eco~GREEN" Agent in West Michigan

It wasn't that long ago that I published an article titled, "Forsalebyowner.com - Is It Worth The Price". I actually had a lot of traffic which proves that probably the thought of selling a home on your own probably hits about every consumer's mind at one point or another. I recently received an email letting me know that in an article titled, "For Sale By Owner: A Look at Selling Your Home on Your Own" that my original article was referenced and linked to in this article.

Well, I thought that was fantastic but more important I believe that sellers need to know all the options that are available to them and how they can make an informed decision. Some people are successful at selling on their own and some don't want the hassle. I believe my initial article was a great article because it wasn't from a REALTOR standpoint... it was from the consumer standpoint.

Ask around and see if sites such as these are working for the people that use them. They will work, but you also need to be able to justify the price and compare it to the benefits that it offers you. There are options out there and there is full-service as well. What program works for you? I have the ability to be flexible and offer different services, just give me a call (616) 318-6101.

Everyone wants to know the Best Deals... Well, here you are! Check back weekly for the latest deals and steals in West Michigan. If you have any questions regarding these homes or any other ones, please call me at (616) 318-6101. You can also check out my website www.seegrhomes.com for weekly updates on the lastest and greatest deals on the market!

Wow! What can we say about the last week except for the fact that it definitely has been turbulent! Being in the field, I've talked with many consumers regarding the housing market and let's face it... they're are a lot of people who are truly suffering. Now, I obviously have my own opinion about the state of housing market, economy and nation but here's an email that was forwarded onto me. THIS IS NOT MY NOTE... HOWEVER, I HAVE TO SAY THAT THERE ARE SOME VERY VALID POINTS MADE. As professionals, I think we all need to take note~

Here you go...

What is wrong with our government (besides the obvious)??

A 700 Billion dollar bailout for the people who created this whole damn mess to begin with is ridiculous. HOW will that help the US in the long run?? By increasing our national deficit? This is as good as the stimulus package. Sure, I'm grateful for my $900 dollar check I got to pay my bills. Thanks, But isn't our dollar worth less than Canada's? Isn't this going to...OH I get it. They're trying to get all the foreigners to come and buy our major appliances. BRILLIANT! Seriously...where is the thought process here? It never finished...

Why aren't these lenders taking any responsibility for the pathetic mess they made due to complete and utter greed on their part. They shouldn't have given loans to people who couldn't afford them to begin with. But it made them a boat load of money at the time and the people were happy cause they got their house. So..."I mean, yeah, the future is a bit shady, but let's go for. The president's doing things without thinking about the catastrophic consequences, why not the CEOs of huge mortgage lenders, right?"

They made it look all pretty at first. They even let people throw in money they didn't actually make as "unverifiable income" to get them into these loans that looked great cause the payments were low enough for the first bit saying "Oh you won't have to worry about these ginormous payments later, you can just refinance". Well turns out the people with no money and bad credit due to being irresponsible didn't change much as they kept getting rewarded for their irresponsibility with more loans, so why change. Oh...you mean they don't qualify for a refinance now cause their credit STILL sucks and the "unverifiable funds" aren't paying the damn mortgage...? "Well shinola, now they're all going into foreclosure. Why isn't our pathetic government taking a stand and saying "You dug the damn hole you're in, now figure a way out"

Screw their rate increase that practically doubles these poor people's mortgage payment. Keep them at the same rate. "You screwed up. Fix it." Then they could continue to make their payments and the lenders would continue to get their money, as apposed to none.

Why aren't these lenders offering help to the people who deserve it? You know, those people who did well before our economy took a dump and they lost their jobs and couldn't make their payments. Give these people who are trying to make good on their debt and have always done good in the past a little break. How about a 6 month grace period with no penalties or rate increases? Give them the time to get a good job again, get back on their feet, and get ahead a little bit so they can get back to the way things were before the "recession". What's 6 months out of a 30 year mortgage? Nothing and much better than the alternative...nothing - Just a thought...

Seems to me like the banks might suffer a little (which they deserve a slap on the wrist as apposed to the way they're bullying us around now), but in the long run, they'd be just as strong as if they'd given these loans to people who deserved them in the first place.

Oh and maybe give these poor, innocent CEO's a pay cut rather than the US.

The End

** Used with permission to repost letter.

I'm asking the community and our leaders to really consider the long-term bail-out program. I believe we are looking short term and need to consider the consequences of our actions. We are definitely paying for risky loans and a.r.m.s with the amount of foreclosures on the market.

What does it cost the bank to take back a home?

Regardless of whether or not the mortgage company is working a short sale or a full-fledged foreclosure, how much does the bank lose in that process? If the bank takes a home back as a foreclosure, the bank is losing HUGE! To me, it makes more sense to help out the people who are behind in the mortgage payment by forgiving a few months of late payments (at this point, the consumer is not going to catch up anyway), fix the adjustable rate (if it does apply) to a reasonable rate, and eliminate the fees. The bank would lose a few thousand dollars or it could lose tens of thousands of dollars. It seems to me that this would help the homeowner, help the bank in the amount of losses, and help decrease the amount of foreclosures that are on the market. Ultimately, helping the overall value of everyone's home.

Now, I would love the government to step in and make the banks do just that! I think that would be a good step in the right direction.

Wow! What can we say about the last week except for the fact that it definitely has been turbulent! Being in the field, I've talked with many consumers regarding the housing market and let's face it... they're are a lot of people who are truly suffering. Now, I obviously have my own opinion about the state of housing market, economy and nation but here's an email that was forwarded onto me. THIS IS NOT MY NOTE... HOWEVER, I HAVE TO SAY THAT THERE ARE SOME VERY VALID POINTS MADE. As professionals, I think we all need to take note~

Here you go...

What is wrong with our government (besides the obvious)??

A 700 Billion dollar bailout for the people who created this whole damn mess to begin with is ridiculous. HOW will that help the US in the long run?? By increasing our national deficit? This is as good as the stimulus package. Sure, I'm grateful for my $900 dollar check I got to pay my bills. Thanks, But isn't our dollar worth less than Canada's? Isn't this going to...OH I get it. They're trying to get all the foreigners to come and buy our major appliances. BRILLIANT! Seriously...where is the thought process here? It never finished...

Why aren't these lenders taking any responsibility for the pathetic mess they made due to complete and utter greed on their part. They shouldn't have given loans to people who couldn't afford them to begin with. But it made them a boat load of money at the time and the people were happy cause they got their house. So..."I mean, yeah, the future is a bit shady, but let's go for. The president's doing things without thinking about the catastrophic consequences, why not the CEOs of huge mortgage lenders, right?"

They made it look all pretty at first. They even let people throw in money they didn't actually make as "unverifiable income" to get them into these loans that looked great cause the payments were low enough for the first bit saying "Oh you won't have to worry about these ginormous payments later, you can just refinance". Well turns out the people with no money and bad credit due to being irresponsible didn't change much as they kept getting rewarded for their irresponsibility with more loans, so why change. Oh...you mean they don't qualify for a refinance now cause their credit STILL sucks and the "unverifiable funds" aren't paying the damn mortgage...? "Well shinola, now they're all going into foreclosure. Why isn't our pathetic government taking a stand and saying "You dug the damn hole you're in, now figure a way out"

Screw their rate increase that practically doubles these poor people's mortgage payment. Keep them at the same rate. "You screwed up. Fix it." Then they could continue to make their payments and the lenders would continue to get their money, as apposed to none.

Why aren't these lenders offering help to the people who deserve it? You know, those people who did well before our economy took a dump and they lost their jobs and couldn't make their payments. Give these people who are trying to make good on their debt and have always done good in the past a little break. How about a 6 month grace period with no penalties or rate increases? Give them the time to get a good job again, get back on their feet, and get ahead a little bit so they can get back to the way things were before the "recession". What's 6 months out of a 30 year mortgage? Nothing and much better than the alternative...nothing - Just a thought...

Seems to me like the banks might suffer a little (which they deserve a slap on the wrist as apposed to the way they're bullying us around now), but in the long run, they'd be just as strong as if they'd given these loans to people who deserved them in the first place.

Oh and maybe give these poor, innocent CEO's a pay cut rather than the US.

The End

** Used with permission to repost letter.

I'm asking the community and our leaders to really consider the long-term bail-out program. I believe we are looking short term and need to consider the consequences of our actions. We are definitely paying for risky loans and a.r.m.s with the amount of foreclosures on the market.

What does it cost the bank to take back a home?

Regardless of whether or not the mortgage company is working a short sale or a full-fledged foreclosure, how much does the bank lose in that process? If the bank takes a home back as a foreclosure, the bank is losing HUGE! To me, it makes more sense to help out the people who are behind in the mortgage payment by forgiving a few months of late payments (at this point, the consumer is not going to catch up anyway), fix the adjustable rate (if it does apply) to a reasonable rate, and eliminate the fees. The bank would lose a few thousand dollars or it could lose tens of thousands of dollars. It seems to me that this would help the homeowner, help the bank in the amount of losses, and help decrease the amount of foreclosures that are on the market. Ultimately, helping the overall value of everyone's home.

Now, I would love the government to step in and make the banks do just that! I think that would be a good step in the right direction.

I had an interesting phone call from a lady I met a little while ago. She was discussing her home (normal conversation) and just before we get ready to say goodbye she makes a comment that just hit me. She was trying to compliment me, but I was awestruck.

The comment was something along this line. "Tammy, I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you for losing all that weight. It's tough when us females get older and you have done so well." To which I reply, "Thank you and yes, I know" or something along those lines.

Honestly, at that point my mind was racing. I'm trying to figure out exactly what she's talking about. Remember, I met her only once and it was this year. No, I haven't lost that much weight. In fact, even though I'm not obese, I probably weigh more than I ever have. (I just wear the right clothes to hide that fact!)

Ding, ding, ding. Oh yeah, the light bulb is going off now. I gave her an old business card that I thought was fantastic but looking closely at it with it's pose, I guess she could assume that I was much "bigger" at that time. Funny, how my perspective was that it was great and she saw something else.

iSN'T THAT HOW PERSPECTIVE WORKS ANYWAY?

We can see things one way and someone else can see them from a totally opposite viewpoint to which none is the wiser. Which bring me to the real estate market. There is a lot of people doing a lot of complaining about the market (consumers, mortgage people, realtors) and oh yeah, there is me! I was so falling into the trap of DOOM and GLOOM that I could hardly stand myself. I know that people around me felt it too.

CAR CRASHES

Just like you, I've had some rough weeks. Last week, was by far one of the toughest. Looking back now that it's over, it's no big deal but at the time, it sucked! If any of you follow me on facebook, you would know that I've been looking for a used car. I had some bad luck where the back end of my car was hit by another car. (I had the blinking yellow, they had the blinking red). Regardless, it did so much damage to the car that it was totaled and I was looking for another car. (BTW, everyone was fine which is a blessing!) That was on Thursday.

On Monday, after bringing my husband to work so that I could use the minivan (5:30 a.m. is very early in the morning J), I go to some appointments, take some pictures of a new house I just listed and head back into town on 131N to pick up hubby from work. Going 70 mph, I blow out the back tire of the minivan on the expressway. Again, I'm fine but my main car wasn't. Had a really nice trucker help me put on the spare and off I go again.

Tuesday, I try to register my daughter at a new school and find out that they don't have all the forms that they need including birth certificates, report cards etc... and by the way, it all has to be in by tomorrow which is the day that the only car is going to get new tires and a thorough inspection. I'm calmly trying to get everyone to work together but I'm running into so many roadblocks. Everything I touched last week was blocked... it seriously was like beating my head against a brick wall. Oh yeah, to top it all off... my dog ran away too. Life sucked! I seriously was doing a lot of complaining about everything and then let me just give you my thoughts on the real estate market. As you can guess, I had my opinion about everything and nothing was good!

FUNNY HOW LIFE CAN CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE

So, why am I telling you about my crappy week. It's not so you feel sorry for me. Believe me I already did that! This week: Perspective has changed. ENOUGH! The market IS WHAT IT IS and all of us just have to adjust. At least that's the way, I see it. While I saw DOOM and GLOOM based on my circumstances, others see OPPORTUNITY. The opportunity is there for those who want to take advantage of it. I have never seen homes go this cheap! Many investors are buying the homes, renting them out, and waiting to sell. It's working for them and it could work for you!

Sellers... I promise not to lie to you. It's tough out there BUT homes are still selling. Call me and I'll tell you what we need to do to get the home sold. The real estate market is a cycle and it's all about your timing and what's right for you. Having the right facts and perspective will help you sell your home. It will get done, I promise!

You can reach me by email at: tstone@grar.com