In my area there is a beautiful foreclosure on Lake MI that is held by BNY Mellon.  I have a buyer and want to get in touch with someone to close a deal.  But also the property has been left unlocked and has been stripped of counters, cabinets and the like and has not been winterized.  The potential buyer is VERY concerned.  It is a 450k foreclosure.  I have left messages on the REO phone line and emailed but no response.  Does anyone have a human's number for BNY Mellon that would get me somewhere?  The property is not currently listed and I believe the 6 month redemption has passed. 

Ok, I know things are not good in the mortgage industry and the markets have slowed.  BUT does anyone else feel that the media is making it all worse than it really is and adding fuel to the fire.  If the newspapers and news programs are all saying how bad things are(because bad news sells better than good news)don't people tend to take that view?  Sure, things are not wonderful in the real estate world right now but there is a cycle to everything and we are in the down stroke right now, nowhere to go but up.  And people are still buying and selling homes, mortgage companies are still writing loans.  Things have changed, yes, but doesn't everything?  Maybe now the inflated prices in some areas will come back to reality and the buyers that really shouldn't be buying right now and the lenders that shouldn't really be lending them money will have to put themselves in a better position over time.  I am interested in hearing what everyone else has to say on this topic.

Ihave a question I would like to ask and hope to get some insight from rainers.  As most know Michigan is in a tough spot right now and lower MI has been hard hit from the troubles with the auto makers.  I was talking with another business owner today about the state of the UP and the effects the troubles of lower MI have had on us.  For those of you in the lower part of the state and surrounding states, what was/is the biggest draw for you to the UP and why, if it applies, do you not come north as often as you would like, or why have you stopped coming north.  Please feel free to give your worst and best stories of the UP and please tell me what you think the UP could do to make it more attractive to people.  There are those of us up here that are trying to revive our area, we don't want to spoil its beauty or fill our woods full of people but our economy struggles all year long now and we need to find solutions to our challenges.  Thank you in advance for your input, I am looking forward to your responses.

Hi everyone!  It's Spring, the Black Flies are biting!  I am excited about what is going on in our community and I wanted to share it with everyone.  I live in Moran in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and I bet there is a surprising amount of you that know where that is.  Moran is located in Brevort Township of Mackinac County and we are a 4 seasons paradise.  Our community has been run down and very much a diamond in the rough but we are starting to shine!  If you have traveled to or through our area you may remember how bad Moran looked and had nothing to offer but things have changed.  Through hard work and cooperation the old fallen in buildings have been torn down and new business are moving in.  We now have a True Value Hardware(my store), The Rock Bottom-restaurant/bar, King's Fish Market-fish market/cafe, a Post Office and a BP/IGA.  Things are looking up!  But the real assets of our area are the North Country Trail, which is a hiking, biking, cross country skiing trail through Hiawatha National Forest, Brevoort Lake, which is a 4230 acre inland lake that has great fishing and is an all sports lake, snowmobile trails and trail heads, ORV trails and 80% of our land is State/National/Federal forest. 

My husband, Kirk and I have created the Brevort Township Community Foundation to help promote and support our community, it's businesses, it's natural resources and it's history.  We have organized some great community events in the previous years but are very excited to announce our biggest and best yet.  Together with local businesses and the Straits Area Sportsmen's Club we are holding the 1st Annual Brevort Lake Walleye Derby.  The grand prize is a 2007 Arctic Cat 4 Wheeler if you catch the tagged Walleye and there is $2,700.00 in additional cash prizes.  There will be a reception after the boats land at 4pm featuring a pig roast and fish fry with a silent auction.  Proceeds from the auction will go to the Sportsmen's Club to help improve and maintain our lake and it's habitat.  The Derby is Sat June 2, 2007 and you can get more details at my web site www.VacationMackinac.com

 

If anyone is interested in investing in our community you can contact me for more information.  Now is the time while it is a buyers market and before everyone sees the potential in the area.

2007 is so fast approaching and I have a head full of goals.  The challenge, we all know, is doing what needs to be done to achive those goals.  I always have believed we all know what to do, it is just the how we get hung up on.  So that is why I have decided to turn to AR in 2007 and get a little help from my friends.  I was completely inspired by Sara Lipnitz(yes, related)and by reading her past blog enteries, that I had to act.  I have always been as excited about our work and industry just as she is but I have lost my spark somewhere.  Gone, poof.  I have been selling real estate for over 10 years and have loved almost every minute of it.  I got my Broker's license and opened my own company and then- Poof.  Did I loose my spark because now the whole fire is my responsibility?  Because our market has been DEAD for about 3 years?  Have I been too distracted? 

I DON"T KNOW!!  But what I do know is it is time to get back in the game!  Sara, I thank you for your blogs.  They are fun and insightful and you put your feelings out there.  And they are the same feelings we are all having at one time or another.  What your father said, "Stop talking and start doing" was fantastic!!  He is so right, we get so caught up in the conversation that we don't do anything.  So I will take his advice and yours and get to work. 

 My main reason for this blog is this-I am hoping that by becoming more active in AR that I will get the insight and motivation from other members that I need to get going again.  I am hoping that by having you all just a click away it will feel like I have other brokers and agents around me creating the stir of excitement and possibility that is lacking in my area.  The better I make myself, the better my life an business will be.  So with that HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A FANTASTIC NEW YEAR!!!!

 

sorry about any spelling errors and Sara paid me to write all that nice stuff about her!!(just kidding)