In this extremely difficult real estate market I feel that now for then ever real estate agents need to work together to bring contracts to a close. We're facing new challenges today that did not exit several years ago. Short sales and foreclosures are dominating the market in some areas. When working with buyers, if you present an offer to the listing agent and that agent is hard to work with, it adds extra stress to a sometimes already emotional situation.

I practice the philosophy of treating others as I would want to be treated and that goes for my fellow agents. Let's all pull together to do what's best for our clients and put their needs first instead of our own. Look on the positive side and life will bring you good things, look on the negative side and all you will receive is negativity. I choose to look at the positive and ignore the negative, it makes life much happier.

Hope you all have a great day!

Jeri Blanco

FHA has become the "new" product of choice for the majority of home buyers today. With little or no down payment and higher loan limits FHA has stepped up to the plate in an attempt to help bail out the current slump the housing market is experiencing. As Realtors, we should do all we can to assist and educate our clients on the benefits of FHA to get them qualified and into a home that they may not have been able to previously afford.

In case you haven't read a newspaper or turned on the evening news lately the BIG story in real estate is the foreclosure market. According to the experts foreclosures are at an all time high. The reality of the situation is that only about 2 percent of the total homeowners in our country are in foreclosure. So why all the high drama and exaggeration. It's the oldest story since the beginning of time, if it bleeds, it reads. The newspapers and the extremely high paid media superstars have got to SELL their stories.

We as professional Realtors know the true story. Yes, there are foreclosures and short sales in every segment of the market across our country. But there are also a lot of home owners who are not in dire straights and are selling or buying every day, business as usual. So lets not buy into the hype. Remember why you are in this business, to help others achieve their dream. If I can do that for just one individual a day, a month or longer, than it's all worth it to me.

Happy Selling my fellow Realtors.

Sincerely,

Jeri Blanco

Coldwell Banker Cocoa Beach Realty

The Blanco-Matlock Team