We have sign outside of our office that says, "Free foreclosure list!" It works like a charm.

I notice that people come in and say, "I would like a free foreclosure-and-short-sale-list, please." We start talking and I realize that 90% of the general public does not know the difference between these two animals - they just want a bargain and think that foreclosure-and-short-sales are the way to get one.

A little foreclosure and short sale 101, OK?

A foreclosure is easy to understand. Somebody bought a house and got a mortgage to do so and then couldn't make their payments so the bank took the house back and is now selling it. We call these REO properties.

Short sales are a different breed. A short sale means that the seller needs to sell the house, but it's worth less than the pay-off on the mortgage. Now we need to find a buyer, get an offer, and then convince the bank to accept less then was agreed upon when the seller bought the house. Short sales get complicated - the banks are not equipped or inclined to give us an answer in any reasonable amount of time. The seller has to "qualify" for the short sale almost like when they bought the house. The bank wants them to prove that they can't make up the difference between the sales price and the mortgage balance.

Since a seller walks away from a short sale with, uh, nothing, and the buyer has to be incredibly patient waiting for the bank to make up their minds, tempers can run high.

Since a seller makes no money on a short sale, why do they bother? Why not just walk away? 2 reasons: most people are honorable and want to live up to their obligations as best they can. Also, a short sale affects a seller's credit for 2 to 3 years, while a foreclosure will ding it for 5 to 7 years.

What's in it for the buyer? Foreclosures and short sales are quite often priced below the "normal" competition.

What are the drawbacks? A buyer is getting involved with a house where the last owner was probably pretty mad when they left. Usually, there aren't any appliances or window coverings or light fixtures, they're often dirty, and the landscaping is suffering or dead because nobody cares. Sometimes the last owner deliberately trashed the place, kicking holes in the walls and taking a drill to the plumbing and a hammer to the tiles. (Shame on them! It isn't the poor house's fault.)

The other drawback on an REO is that the bank has no idea of the condition of the property. The buyer gets no disclosures, no warranties, and no promises - they're on their own as far as figuring out what kind of shape this house is in. (I would never sell one of these properties without a thorough ASHI certified inspector going over it first. Never!)

So if you think that you might be interested in picking up one of
these "bargains," please call a REALTOR(R) who is experienced in dealing with them. Remember, these properties are tricksy and difficult and require a competent professional.

If you're a homeowner that's afraid that you might be in one of these situations, again, call a REALTOR(R) who knows what they're doing. There are a lot of scams out there and a lot of unscrupulous bottom-feeders that want to take advantage of people's fear and desperation. Don't deal with a "loan modification facilitator" if they want money up front. Reputable loan modifiers will wait until the job is done to collect a fee. They're one of the few professions that I can think of that get paid like REALTORS(R).

I'm being technologically special lately. My wonderful hoo-hah phone (that I now realize has replaced my brain) crashed. AAAaaargh! Calm down, Carol Anne - just sync it and everything will be back. Nope. Nothing there. (Did you know that the license plate on my Jeep says "TURETS?" I earned it, mostly with episodes and epithets like yesterday's.) So now I've lost my schedule and hundreds of phone numbers that apparently I haven't stored anyplace else. Why would I put them anyplace else? I have a wonderful phone with a computer back-up. Wrong.

Then I borrowed Mike's Blazer to go to a Grievance Committee meeting in Phoenix. On the way home the "check engine" light came on. I pulled over and figured out to lift the hood and checked the engine. Yep - there's an engine, right there. Got back in and started it up and the "check engine" light is still lit up. "But I did! I checked the engine!" Momentary and muttered TURETS this time.
So Mike takes his Blazer to Brain The Car Doctor. Brain hooks it up to his voodoo instruments and they tell him that it misfired while going 93 MPH with the throttle at 80% and Mike comes home and shakes his finger at me and explains (again) the photo radar and that they'll mail me a felony speeding ticket. Yes, Dear.

Then Nick The Computer Doctor replaced the old Windows OS on my office computer with a Linux system. I'm sure that it's absolutely wonderful, but it's different - instead of clicking on the little spinning world now I click on the bird and my brain is not seeming to want to develop this new habit.

So I'm thrashing around feeling betrayed and snitched on and challenged and then finally realize that if these are the worst things that happen this week then I'm doing pretty darn well. I remember to count my blessings, and to pray for the billions of people out there that would trade problems with me in a New York heartbeat.

I know that this post is not so much about the business of real estate as it is about being grateful that I do have a phone and a car and a computer to cuss at. If you wanted real estate, give me a holler and I'll talk about it for as long as you want, but right now I'm just feeling happy to have a roof over my head and a family to share my life with and the technology to share these thoughts with you. Thank you for listening.

REALTOR ETHICS.

I notice that a lot of the general public is unaware that REALTORs (I'm not yelling at you when I capitalize REALTOR - the National Association says that I must always put our name in caps.) have a stringent Code Of Ethics.
I've been extensively trained in our Code, so I feel comfortable talking about it to you. It's not secret, like the Masons. You can find your own copy, suitable for framing, at www.realtor.org.
Basically, the Code outlines the REALTOR's obligations to the public and to other REALTORs. We are required to always work in the best interests of our client. Within legal guidelines, we're required to tell you anything that we know about the property that might have a bearing on your decision to buy, or how much you pay. Our clients have to give us permission to work with both the seller and the buyer in the same deal. We have to be honest with everyone involved. We ae required to account for every penny.
That's just a taste - the REALTOR Code of Ethics goes on for days. I know - I've been on Arizona Association of REALTORs' Professional Standards or Greivance committees for almost 20 years, and I'm one of the comparatively few certified ethics instructors.
Do REALTORs sometimes make mistakes? Yes. Are there ever bad apples who just don't care about ethics? Yes, but they die on the vine pretty quickly. If a member of the public feels badly treated by a REALTOR, do they have any recourse? Absolutely - that's what we're here for.
Is this a subject that you want to hear more about? I live and breathe the Code of Ethics, but I realize that everybody might not share my enthusiasm. What do you think?