Nobody TOLD me there would be crying in Real Estate

Cynthia, somehow we seem to have forgotten that behind every foreclosure there is a human being who hurts. Thanks you for the reminder.   

Ouch Cynthia, it is difficult meeting with people who are losing their homes. On the bright side, someone will have to do the job, and I'm sure by being so empathetic about it you are making their experience just a little less painful.

It's never easy when these situations come up, unfortunately it's a guarantee that these situations will arise.  Being compassionate and open minded are always good traits to have.

Very sad for sure -- especially if there are kids involved -- let's all hope for improvement in the near future.

Cynthia,  You keep that pile of keys leading to nowhere because they represent a person, a family.

Great story, but sad too.

No question, that selling foreclosures, even short sales are a sad experience. The same can be said about sales because of death and divorce.

My first REO was an eviction.  I was determined to hold myself together.  Yet when they were standing there with their four children, crying and saying "I didn't really think it would come to this...", I lost it.  One other comment always rings in my head when I think of that day - "Everyone said to trash the place, but the worst we could do is not vacuum the carpet for a week".  I'm happy to see that the people who bought it love it very much and take such very good care of it, but I still want to cry when I think about that day. 

It hasn't gotten easier yet.

A heartfelt reminder that in these times, it is a very personal and heartbreaking business.  I work in a mostly 55+ community and have had to counsel people in their 80s about their options when upside down and they can no longer take care of their home.  I hope my skin is never thick enough for me not to feel their absolute pain in a time of their life when staring over is not an option.

On the other hand a person can always help the borrower to reinstate the mortgage or try to get a loan modification. I am sure that there is a market for that too. Banks do not like to have empty houses either.  I know that is complicated and frustrating and very emotional. I want to learn to help people who are faced with foreclosures, judgments, and financial problems. Sometimes there is a silver lining around all those clouds.

Eileen #51: I agree that being compassionate and open-minded are essential. I am glad to have those qualities. It has helped me through many situations. Especially if you are open-minded and creative. For every problem, there are at least 2 solutions. A lot of times you could find or create dozens of solutions to some complicated problems.

Hey Cynthia your feelings come through so clear in your post.  There has always been crying in real estate for me.  In this market it is mandatory for agents that care about their clients.  Thanks for being a great agent!

Cynthia, I am here thru Donne's bringing attention to your post....I am not sure if I should thank her or complain to her.....This is a tragic situation....When it effects crooks I do not mind, when it effects good, honest people it hurts....

Congrats on the almost feature...I am glad you have received so many great comments.

I feel the sad part about a lot of REO's is they are good people that would have been able to pull through if given the chance and the foreclosure did not really need to happen.

I pray that at some point someone comes up with a plan that says there is no standard one size fits all plan when it comes to people losing their homes.

I also pray the FICO sytem of credit rating disappears from the face of the planet...and soon...as this archaic and barbaric lopsided credit scoring system is destroying families, careers, and lives by the false, inaccurate, inconsistent, and misleading drivel posted to many peoples credit files.

(before anyone says that is not true and I am blowing smoke...I have the written, notarized proof and documentation in the files to prove it)

Cynthia, it's hard not to cry when someone has lost their home! Some of my clients cry when they begin the short sale process. I cry with them, can't help it because my skin is not that thick either. I try to point out the bright side: they'll be getting out from of an underwater mortgage. Unless lenders can reduce principal to fair market value, homeowners who are struggling will never be able to pay. It gets to the point, what's the point?

Tears come with the territory these days.  It's a brutal business.  A seller's eyes welled up in my office last week--we both needed a tissue to catch the overflow. 

As I show foreclosed houses to buyers one of the things I hate to see the most are the marks on the wall where they memorialized their kids' growth.  I have to bite back tears every time.