Good Mood Food for Getting Through a Short Sale

Let's face it, the world is a complex place and just calling the bank can be a hassle when you have to scream "Representative, representative!" 100 times to get the computer voice on the phone to transfer you . Anyone can lose a good mood in a call queue. Here's some foods to consider. Good Mood Food, starting with the Omega Monsters: Salmon, walnuts and canola oil. These babies help your heart, eyes and joints as well as fighting depression. Stock up on flax seed, tuna, trout, sardines, mackerel and anchovies. 2-3 Servings a week. B6 Team: Vitamin B6 aids in the production of serotonin, the feel good brain chemical. It reduces anxiety and mood swings so get at least 3 servings a day of red bell pepper, spinach, potatoes, chicken or nuts. 3 servings a day Group of B12 : Vitamin B12 fights depression and fatigue and is found only in animal foods that may be high in saturated fats. Too avoid that choose skinless chicken breast, low fat cottage cheese, or Greek Yogurt. 2-3 servings a day. Seize the C:Funk fighting serotonin is a neurotransmitter and requires Vitamin C. Red bell peppers, cantaloupe, and strawberries are good sources and have anti aging properties! That should boost your mood! 2 servings a day What's a Serving look like? fish, beef, chicken 3 oz nuts, seeds, oil, dried fruit 1 oz Cereal,leafy greens, dairy 1 Cup Veggies, sliced fruit, juice, oatmeal 1/2 C It's spring! ( I think) So celebrate with some good mood food!

A Good Way To Fail

We are odd creatures about price. When I had a flower shop in Santa Monica, on my first Valentine's Day I thought selling discounted roses would be the way to lots of orders. I answered the phone full of enthusiasm for my discounted humanitarian price that would drive romance to a new high. But a funny thing happened. 2 out of 3 people said "Thanks." and hung up. The next year I tried a different tactic. I used higher quality roses, better vases and silk ribbon. Then I doubled the price from last year. I answered the phone a nervous wreck, choking out the new price with dread. "Here's the address" they all said. Why? Because, they figured, if I was charging more, they must be better and because I was ethical and wanted them to come back next year, they were better. Consider a glass of wine. "How is it?" my friend asks. Well, compared to Chateau Haut Margeaux, not so great. Compared to Two Buck Chuck? Awesome! How do we quantify value? As a real estate business person, our brokerage fees are hard to quantify. If we do a superlative job, shield our client from stress, mask the difficulties, resolve all the discord and present a sale at the end of 45 days of our own hellish labors, they wonder what we did. If we involve them in the drama, offer them sleepless nights participating in the uncertainty of a transaction in this market, or blast the other agent so we look like heroes, they often wonder, "Why am I paying this guy to torture me?" Since homeowners on average sell only once every 6-9 years, they are not selling in the same market in which they experienced the last sale, so all of their expectations will be violated. Unlike going to the cleaners or grocer, which they do weekly, the consumer cannot compare their experiences tangibly and they tend to make choices largely on price of services. Once they realize they have chosen badly, they are in too deep. Our current market is NOTHING like anyone has experienced prior. Please find a full time, constantly re educating, active, engaged real estate business person. This person should also be networked to financial advisers, tax experts, lawyers and estate planners so they pick up on trends, problems and market conditions well ahead of the newspaper or colleagues. In addition they must now stay on top of on line marketing or pay dearly to have a service that provides SMM, RSS, blogging, syndication, hosting, photography, video, hosting, players and links, all so that your home shows up on Google! This all takes drive, and additional time, energy and resources to deliver a better outcome. So you can pay now or pay later, but I say pay for the best and get a superior outcome.

Realtors With Experience Are The Key!

Are you deep into a short sale? Ready to scream? Here are 5 key things to keep in mind: 1. Work only with an experienced Realtor. This industry is wiping out the weak, the lazy, the uneducated and the slackers. It is far too difficult to make a short sale work to risk it on a rookie. Be sure you have an experienced Realtor. Ask the following questions: a. What is Equator? b. How many stages are there in a short sale offer? c. How have you handled the Jr. lien holder previously? d. Please explain the 'investor' stage to me. e. Please explain the language in the Car SS form. If you get vague answers or a deer in the headlights look, excuse yourself immediately. Each bank is different so there is no uniform protocol to getting the short sale done, but each requires the following: 1.A signed purchase agreement by the buyer and the seller. Even if the seller is behind in his loan payments, has a notice of default, or is trying for a loan modification, he is still the owner of record and must agree the sale. 2. A hardship letter that is very detailed and offers the following four parts: 1. What lead to your financial collapse? 2. What sacrifices have you already made? 3. What are the benefits of the short sale? 4. A statement that you are willing to maintain the home. 3. Your last 2 years tax returns 4. Your last 3 bank statements 5. A list of any other assets or a statement that you do not have any. 6. Your agent can provide comparable sales in the neighbor and should write a detailed letter shedding light on the conditions in your neighborhood. 7.A Financial Statement for any period not covered by tax return. It is very important that you separate the elements and label them with a sheet of paper: My Financials, My Tax Returns, Comps, My Hardship etc. The person reviewing your file looks at hundreds of files and is very jaded. And probably tired. You must get them to wake up. A photo is also helpful, even an image of a pencil or a beleaguered person will jolt the attention of the asset manager looking at your file and will make you stand out. This is war, a war of attention. Fortune favors the BOLD! Also, be neat, this sends a message that you are responsible and can complete a goal. They are stocked up on whiners and wimps. GO AFTER IT! And remember, a short sale successfully handled frees you of negative equity, you can re purchase in many cases after two years, and you relieve a lot of stress on your self or your family. Good luck!

What Most Americans Are Missing

Fallan Research and Communications, Inc. discovered that 91% of all homeowners still believe real estate is a good investment. 72% of renters want to own a home.http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/4cdb6500463596dc84e7bdce195c5fb4/3_11_Home_Dellivery.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=4cdb6500463596dc84e7bdce195c5fb4 Americans have never been good at planning. While other cultures have traditionally saved more and planned for future generations, our cultural trait of "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" has led us to be a do it yourself culture. But as we have slowed down the pace of our lives and find ourselves taking a hard reflective look at the value of acquisition verses security, we are making changes. Security, while instinctive has not been intellectually embraced. Living Americans have never experienced a war or physical threat to their safety. Apart from the terror of aids in the 80's, no plague or pox has made us think about our destiny. We have enjoyed freedom from worry that burdens many other nations even today. The 'Greatest Generation' that experienced the depression did plan, many have enviable fortunes to pass down, but find their children are spoiled and entitled and have no life skills to manage any form of wealth. But those that still have their thinking caps on, are rethinking the whole thing. Gone are the casual expenditures on the next big flat screen. Maybe a hybrid is not so geeky after all. Do I really need 200 channels of TV for $150.00 a month? What legacy do I want to leave and how much time have I remaining to get it together? Through all of the soul searching and agonizing "if only I'd have...." the dream of home ownership is alive. It is largely a biological drive to own your own shelter. Animals defend their nest courageously, without shelter they die. We have a deep limbic need to feel secure in our nest. Ownership speaks to that drive as well as the highest of Maslow's needs, self actualization. http://www.abraham-maslow.com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs.asp Nobody wants a landlord telling the they can't express themselves with a lavender bedroom, or decoupage bathroom door! "Let me be me!" is every renters cry. So having a home expresses both the second of Maslow's needs, Shelter (second only to air,water,sex, and food) and the highest, self actualization. As you think about whether to buy a home or not, remember it is not totally realistic to think only in terms of fiscal sense. You must have shelter. Renting is great when you are young with few assets and responsibilities, but when you are 80 and don't want your kids to put you in a home or hanging out with a lot of other folks with walkers, owning you own home gives you massive control over your destiny. ONLY by buying young and buying smart will you assure yourself of that security. Or, if you have squandered that chance and are over 40 , buy smart and hand the asset to a well informed adult child, and you will have made a legacy for them and for their children. Only by setting that example and talking about the virtue of sacrifice and planning will we save our society from the "me first" thinking that took root in the 80's. By being committed custodians of our assets and thinking more about generational time lines, will we starve out the disposable thinking of many Americans today. If you accept that the new normal may not hold the cavalier expenditures of the past, that life is profound and your responsibility is to model good decisions for your children, nieces, nephews, friends and business relations, you settle into a way of thinking that is more about quality and less about quantity. Shelter, it is a huge concept. It has been a long time since prices and % rates collided to your benefit. Think long and hard about the wealth creation you can gain right now in this historic time. This constellation of conditions may never come again, as this event is a product of globalization. Once the standard of living has equalized around the globe, things will settle again into more predictable patterns and this anomaly will vaporize. The dream is alive, and the means are here to make huge gains. Don't miss it, but expect it to manifest slower than we fast paced Americans prefer.