Today's Real Estate Market is buried in "Short Sales, Foreclosures & Auctions". At least that is where the Buyers are looking to Buy from. The Sellers are just Hoping that isn't where their House ends up Selling from. My dealings with Short Sales & Foreclosures runs the Full Gamut of descriptions, most include these types of Descriptions ~ Frustrations, Disappointment, Disbelief, Stress-full, Tiring, Never-Ending, Emotionless, Thankless, Are-You-Kidding-Me!!! I'm sure you get the picture. All of these plus many, many more all add up to that uncomfortable feeling of "Standing in Line", a VERY LONG LINE! To all of the Listing Agents and Bank Employees who represent the Distressed Properties of America, PLEASE,  we don't want Sympathy, we don't want Ridicule, we don't necessarily want to Bother You. What we do want is Information, Current, Good or Bad, but we need information. PLEASE just be respectful and Communicate with the Buyers Agents, if you are swamped, hire more people. We ALL need to work together to get through this. I know that I am just one Little Lonely Voice, but I do hope that someone is Listening, someone needs to Listen............

First of all, a BIG shout-out of Thanks to Kimberly Wilson for her constant encouragement. She really is the one that got me blogging. One of my first attempts in this arena dealt with something very near and dear to my heart. Family pets, or the current rash of "Displaced Family Pets". Well here we go again, old softie has some more pet friendly information to share with you. The Dawson County Humane Society held another one of their fund raisers this past Sunday, Pet photos with Santa Clause. My wife Lynda was the photographer for this event, she normally takes pictures of small children at Day Care Facilities and Pre-Schools. But Sunday was different, Lynda & I do not have children, so on Sunday our little family of rescued dogs were to have their "special moment" with with Santa.

I know that our Nation and Industry are on hard times, and I know how difficult it is for our local Humane Society to raise the funding to financially support all of the great work and dedication that it takes to successfully run an animal rescue shelter. But when you see the great photos of all of the family pets with Santa, it is absolutely heart warming. I have included pictures of our three (Ruby, Petey and Sweet Pea) with Santa as well as my parents, Richard and Cathy's little chihuahua Buster. We could all use a little help to put smiles on our faces this holiday season, I hope our little family of furry creatures has done just that!

If you have any extra Christmas money that you could contribute to the Dawson County Humane Society, it will be very much appreciated     http://www.dawsoncountyhumanesociety.org/ .........................." Merry Christmas"

As a Real Estate Professional, when listing a property, I work very closely with, and many times actually directing my clients, on the dos and don'ts of preparing a house "For Sale". After all, this is a large part of why they hired us to begin with. We have convinced them to take advantage of the best, most current and innovative market plans for Selling their house. I enjoy this interaction with my clients, it is what I consider to be the funnest, at times challenging, and most rewarding part of being a Realtor. However, I have one client that has been a challenge, and it is ME......! My Wife and I recently Listed our House, with ME,and I have found that many of the items that I suggest that my clients take care of, I find it hard to do. It has given me a different perspective on how to interact with my clients. In the future, I know, that I will not ask a client to do something that I, MYSELF am not willing to do! I was wondering if anyone else out there had any similar experiences that they would like to share when selling their own house?

Many former homeowners are now renters, and most rental apartments or houses have a "No Pets Allowed" policy. One of the most unfortunate and distasteful fall-outs from this Housing Crunch is the animals that are left behind. Literally left behind in the house or condo to live or die. Many families drop off (surrender) their pets at the local Animal Shelter, Humane Society or some form of Animal Rescue League. I am a current and active member of the Dawson County Humane Society, and a former Board of Director member, and I can tell you "We are Full", and at times, just do not have any room for additional animals. This however is not a problem limited to just Dawson County, or even the State of Georgia, this is a National crisis. I am sending out a plea to Realtors  the country; "please get involved". You can volunteer your time, or dig down deep and make a financial contribution, but my biggest request is actually go out and adopt an animal of your choice. Actually, I would like to establish a "Realtor National Adopt a Pet Day",  anyone have an idea for which day that could be? The sooner the better.................................

I'm old fashioned, I voted today, today is Election Day correct? ( I also do not open my Christmas presents early, nor my Birthday presents either). This has been a very interesting capaign so far. I'm also so over it! NOW, can we get back to the business of buying and selling Real Estate?

Our country is in a big mess, and I do not care who's to blame, (we can sort that out later if need be). Our number one priority as Americans and especially as Realtors, we must help put a stop to this Foreclosure mess that is smothering our industry. (1) My plan is to focus on selling under-priced houses as quickly as possible. (2)Focus on first time house buyers, they currently have a great tax incentive, (use it or possibly loose it, depending on the election outcome). (3) Get some of these distressed homes in the hands of  Habitat for Humanity, it has to be cheaper to remodel than to build from scratch. (4) Educate my clients on the differences of a "Foreclosure" vs. a "Re-Sale", help them make an educated decision. (5) Develop a closer working relationship with local lenders, be involved in every inch of the process, from Loan Application through CLosing, ramp it up! (6) Be humble, if you are a survivor of this upside down market, WE can help shape what the future market will look like. By then, we shouldn't really care who's fault this whole mess really was.

After all, isn't it our Patriotic Duty...................