I have declared 2008 the year of distress! 

There's a crazy looking distressed image for ya. . .

Everything that I am working on has a "distressed" component.  If it is not a distressed sale (short sale) or a distressed property (neglected REO bank owned), then I am working with a Buyer who has distressed credit. 

In fact I would have to say that the distress is not just limited to the clients and property, but extends to the real state professionals that I am working with as well. Every day I speak with distressed Realtors who are despairing over their lower than average sales. There are also many distressed loan officers who are moving around with every retail banking outlet closing in order to find better positions in the shrinking lending market.

What is the solution?  I am not sure, but it seems that distress leads to dis-trust.  The one thing that we cannot do is dis-trust one another as real estate professionals.  The people who jumped in when the market was hot have all left now that it has gone cold.  I think those of us left need to work together in order to maximize every opportunity that we have.  We need to be thinking about referrals all the time.  We need to be linking with people who can help us make the most of our time and effort as we work with these most difficult transactions.  We need to bring order out of all of this chaos.  Let's get back to basics, working harder, but working together.  I say call that Realtor, Loan Officer, Real Estate Attorney and grab a coffee, bitch about the market and discuss how you can work together with new loan products, new legal strategies and new marketing ideas to turn things around.

-photo from congnitive distortion.com