In the past 6 months, I have found more and more cases where the BPOs and Appraisals that Loss Mitigation Departments are receiving are higher than foreclosures in the same area - and even in the same subdivision.

I have a client who is working on a Short Sale with one of the Big Banks.  The bank sent me an appraisal on the property, after I submitted the one and only offer I have received for this property in six months.  The negotiator came back and countered the offer asking for $35,000 more than the buyer was willing to pay.  Not surprisingly, the buyer dropped his offer and I was at square one again.

I contacted the negotiator and asked her how it was possible to have an appraisal $35,000 higher when her own company has a foreclosure property under contract in the same subdivision for $35,000 less than the appraisal claims this house is worth.  She stated that the Appraisal showed a higher value because the house had not been "stigmatized" as a foreclosure yet, and the tax records show that the foreclosure is a few square feet larger than the Short Sale.  The loss mitigator stated that they would not review any offer below the appraisal's number, and I needed to increase the listing price to match it.

Two months passed, and a new negotiator has been assigned to the file.  I shared the same information adding that yet another house foreclosed by the same bank has already closed, and both the foreclosures are less than the $35,000 additional that the bank is asking any buyer I receive to offer for a short sale on my client's house.

In the Real Estate market we are enduring in Georgia, it is like pulling teeth trying to keep a buyer happy during a transaction that involves a short sale.  It is even more frustrating when you are competing with foreclosures and a 6 month long process to close.  I cannot count the number of times I get a call from a buyer's agent asking to see one of my properties now, and when they find out it is a Short Sale, they do not bring their buyers.  They just skip those houses.

So where is the real stigma?

After a recent internal event, I asked my IT department to write up a commentary of what happened which I could publish in order to warn my fellow agents. The cautionary tale that follows is one I urge everyone to read and heed when considering the safety of the data that is used every day to run your business.

Carbonite is a commercial off-site data backup and recovery system.  The principle is simple, elegant, and attractive. You sign up for a subscription, a small piece of software is installed on your PC, and data from your PC is backed up continuously - as it is changed - with nearly no disruption to your day-to-day activities.  The backup occurs to an off site location, providing safety against physical disasters at your location. The data is backed up on redundant systems to provide further safety against hardware failures. They even promise some level of version control which could allow you to recover from a human error by recovering a file prior to the human involvement that generated the error. Carbonite just sits there in the background taking care of your data so that you need not worry about it. That's the problem...

All of our office systems were "protected" by Carbonite.  We installed the software on every PC and laptop nearly 4 years ago. Approximately 2 years ago, one of the computers experienced a hardware failure corrupting a percentage of the files. We were able to recover all of this data using Carbonite. Around six months before that, a laptop hard disk failed. We recovered the entire backup to the new disk. For a lengthy period of time, a member of the team was away from the office for weeks at a time. Every week, he received a notice that the PC had not been backed up (because it was turned off). This is a good safety measure.

We, the IT department, were feeling pretty good about our selected data safety strategy.  For a small investment, our office had a multiply redundant off-site backup and disaster recovery strategy. Those happy feelings ended last week.

One laptop experienced physical damage to its disk drive (the read head scratched the disk surfaces). No problem, the PC was operating slowly and was aging, it was time to be replaced anyway. So the IT Department goes to work locating backups and evaluating replacement laptops. Then came the ugly surprise. The last backup of this laptop occurred two years earlier. For two years, no backups have been occurring, and no notification had been sent. The nightmare scenario was playing out. It was lucky that this PC was not the sole repository of absolutely business-critical information. It did have, however, a significant amount of unique data that existed nowhere else.

We attempted a forensic recovery of the disk platters, but the damage was too severe. The technician quoted us $1300 for a 50% chance that any data could be recovered.  Two years of important data has simply vanished.

Carbonite's technical support team was astonishingly unhelpful and uncaring. They simply confirmed the date of the last backup, with no comment on how the backups might have stopped or why there was no email notification.  We found it interesting that the date of the last backup within one week of the subscription renewal date. We also confirmed that we had been paying for the backup subscription for this laptop for two years while no backups were occurring.  This is an unacceptable failure on the part of Carbonite. 

We are requesting a refund of the two years subscriptions, and we are in the process of moving our backup procedures to an alternate service. Rest assured that verification of successful backups will be a part of that plan. We strongly encourage members of both the real estate and IT industries to learn from this cautionary tale and ensure the safety of their own backup systems. Not just when something fails, not just once in a while, but on a regular periodic basis. Also, before selecting a Internet backup service, check out the online reputation of those services.  When we signed up for Carbonite, the company had not been around long enough to have established a reputation - we took them on faith. Now there are multiple companies, and each has been around long enough to have built up an independently reviewed reputation. For example: we just googled Carbonite backup failure during this process and found some interesting results. 

Our entire team hopes that you learn from our problems, so that you never have to experience it yourself. Imagine how bad it could have been if the loss included are only copies of critical customer information, contracts, financial documents, and company books. To this day, we are in awe of how bad it could have been. Don't let it be that bad for you.

As long as you are here reading this article, help me impress upon all the other readers how important data safety is.  Share your stories with the audience by posting a comment. Feel free to re-blog this article in any venue that might help others to avoid this problem (with proper attribution).

A catalyst for homes, industries, schools, universities and business, the incredible diversity of enterprises is driven by a common bond to move to a green lifestyle. Inhabiting a world where environmental awareness is a vital concern to the future of our planet, it is important to take note of the consequences of improper building materials and environmental degradation. Having the assistance of a reliable and experienced Atlanta, Georgia real estate agent will make all the difference during the home buying process.

While many homeowners may think that building green can take a toll on the wallet, the benefits outweigh any initial monetary losses. There are many environmentally friendly, green forms of insulation that not only are healthy alternatives to asbestos, but may even help reducing annual energy costs. 

The implementation of eco-construction and green home solutions will play an important role in the transformation to a healthier and sustainable world. Using eco-friendly methods of building may prove to be costly at first, but research shows it can reduce annual energy costs by 25 percent! By building green, you will immediately see the multitude of positive health, economic and environmental benefits, such as: conserving natural resources, energy sustainability, increased property value and improve your quality of life.

Asbestos & Healthy Tips

Throughout the greater part of the 20^th century, a naturally-occurring mineral known as asbestos was utilized in a variety of applications. Due to its flame resistant, highly durable and inexpensive qualities, it became the ideal choice for manufacturers as a form of insulation, piping, brake lining and flooring. There are many green, eco-friendly materials that replace the need for asbestos and can reduce energy costs annually.

If any suspected asbestos is located, the best advice is to leave it alone. If you are having home renovations, performed, do not panic. Again, asbestos that is left un-disturbed will normally pose no threat. If asbestos needs to be removed, it should be performed by licensed abatement contractors. These contractors are trained in the handling and disposal of asbestos in public facilities and homes.

Exposure to asbestos has been proven to be the only known cause of a rare but aggressive form of lung cancer known as mesothelioma. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 cases are diagnosed every year in the United States, accounting for three percent of all cancer diagnoses.

GREEN Homes  

Environment Georgia is a citizen run environmental organization seeking to produce real changes in tackling all of the state's eco problems. Each and every human being would like clean air to breathe and crisp water to drink. It takes a lot of effort and political advocacy to achieve this on a macro level. That is what groups such as Environment Georgia focus exclusively on.

Many cities and states are taking an active approach by updating older homes and buildings to suit the needs of achieving a healthy home and environment. The Green Economy Initiative is designed to assist governments in "greening" their economies by reshaping and refocusing policies, investments towards clean/renewable technologies, green transportation, waste management and green architecture. 

 The use of green alternatives such as cotton fiber, icynene foam and cellulose can reduce annual energy costs by 25 percent. Cotton fiber is also becoming a favorite insulation method. Made from recycled batted material, it is then treated to be fireproof. Water based spray polyurethane foam, icynene, is a healthy insulation which contains no toxic components. These green options have the same beneficial qualities as asbestos, minus the health and environmentally deteriorating qualities.

Now that you have moved into that wonderful new dream house you just purchased, it's all done, right?  Not quite.  You want to make that new house into a home.  There are some lingering repairs needed, you want to replace some carpet, or the heater goes thump in the night...  You are new to the area, or this is your first house - you don't know who to turn to in order to make the thumping stop.  I do.  And I'm still your agent.  Just because the transaction is closed does not mean I disappear and you never hear from me again. 

I expect to be invited to your housewarming party (just kidding), and to get a call when a pipe springs a leak and you don't know a plumber (not kidding), in order to earn that call when you have a friend who needs to sell her house.  I build clients for life, and I want you to be one of them.  So I intend to take just as good care of you after you have moved in as I did before.  And...

I have that network of reliable, high-quality professionals that can take care of every little thing that your house may need fixed, changed, cleaned, or removed.  Every one of them is someone I've worked with in the past and who has demonstrated that they will take good care of my clients.  Many of them have bailed me out of tight spots, so I know I can count on them.  If I recommend them, you can be assured that they'll do the job right and for a reasonable cost.  Your own personal Angie's List or Kudzu.com. 

So don't be embarrased to call me when you want that horrid wallpaper that we joked about in the guest bath removed.  Just call.  I have just the right guy for you....

We just negotiated a great deal on a house you love, and everybody has signed all the paperwork.  Whew.  Now what? There is a long time between that last signature and moving in to the new home. Let me explain what is going on during that time.

The first part is the due-diligence period. This is where an inspection is performed on the property. If you don't have an inspector, I can recommend a few great ones. Once we have the inspection report, then I go back into negotiation-mode to negotiate the repairs indicated by the inspection report. This is a miniature version of the negotiation we just went through.

In the meanwhile, you are working with your lender to apply for and finalize the loan. This will involve an appraisal of the value of the property. These two items represent your risk for this transaction, as they are the items you need to pay for up-front (before the closing-table).

At this time, we are also working on the termite letter and bond, a property survey (if you request one), and ensuring that the property has a clear title. While we (the agents and closing coordinator) are working on these details, you will be working on the homeowners insurance required for the loan and setting up utility accounts in your name for the new property.

There are many many details at this stage of the process. This is where my automated systems make life much easier for all of us. My computer reminds my team which of these steps needs to be completed for each client and each property every day. My team works with the closing coordinator to ensure this process goes smoothly for all clients, right up to the closing table where you get the key to your new home.

With my help, we now have an offer to present to the seller's agent. This is just the beginning of the negotiation process.  Something to understand about me is that I grew up in a culture where negotiation is both a way of life and an artform. It is an art at which I excel.

Going from initial offer to binding contract will require a back-and-forth negotiation involving the seller, the seller's agent, you, and me. It will involve my expert knowledge of the market, understanding of the seller's situation, and a strong eye for the strengths and weaknesses of the property. Each party will give here and take there in order to arrive at what they believe is the best deal for them.

Where the art enters into the equation is in balancing what is most important to each party. Successful negotiation is not about beating the other person, but about finding a balance between the competing needs of all parties. At this stage of the process, emotions may be running high. This is where my knowledge of your situation, wants, and desires along with my cool focus on the business side of the transaction allow me to negotiate the best contract for you.

Clients and closing attorneys alike are equally astonished at the deals I have been able to negotiate for my clients. Feel free to browse my testimonials page for some examples, or give me a call so I can relate some of the more interesting stories of the tens of thousands of dollars I have saved my clients.

I have found that coolly negotiating a deal is uncomfortable for most people, but you should understand that it comes as natural to me as breathing. Let me put my negotiation skills to work for you.