There was a post here on AR this week about NAR and their advocacy of the Realtor community and their lack of due diligence in warning that community about the impending collapse of the Fanny/Freddie.
While I completely agree with the commentary about the lack of due diligence by NAR, I have no ability to go into the past and alter events. As well, I am reminded that NAR is a Realtor advocate. Oversight of government agencies is the duty of the legislatures and the executives of the states and nation - all of them elected officials.
We can look back to the reports in the 1970s of the condemnation of "red lining" and the government responses and attacks on mortgage lenders which, over time, has brought us to this point. And, we can recall the warnings of Alan Greenspan and others of the likely government-backed mortgage doom.
Or, we can look into the future and arrive at a forecast, based upon the structure of all debt, short and long term. As a Realtor, I'm not as familiar as are lenders with the intricacies of all of the debt instruments. As a financial analyst and former Registered Investment Advisor, I am acquainted with the process of estimating the future results of past activities.
The American Dream has been recast and will likely never be revisited in the form of the recent past. Home foreclosures, short sales and property abandonment will materially expand the demand for home rentals and open the door for anyone who wants to segue into property management and real estate investing. After a water supply and available jobs, housing is the third leg of the stool which supports any community, large or small.
Home value reduction, the burden of mortgages which are greater than home values, and the impact of interest only, negative amortization and adjustable rate mortgages will result in substantial short sales and foreclosures over the next five years. Home values, in the aftermath of the current meltdown, will likely never recover in the fashion to which we have been accustomed-we can expect values to rise at no more than the general inflation rate. Easy credit and easy home loans have disappeared.
The very popular real estate "flipping" shows will disappear. Consumer focus will shift to debt and financial management, based upon sound principles.
We all know that there is fear in the entire consumer market place. And the greatest fear of all is debt. We know there are massive job losses on the way. Most people are newly afraid of joblessness.
When people ask me "What do you do?" I reply:
The best way to describe that is with a story.
Jim and Nancy had the American Dream. And, like most people, they had debts: a mortgage, auto loans, credit cards, a home equity line of credit and loans for furniture, home improvements, and education.
Then they ran into trouble. And, because their credit lines were down, they were worried about the future for their family. They both lost sleep and they argued about what to do. Then they found the cure.
That's what I do, I cure debt cancer - I'm a debt doctor.
My entire practice is focused upon assisting people in avoiding foreclosure through short sales and upon cancelling interest and debt to assure a safer financial future. 2009 and beyond are the time for short sales and debt consulting. There is enormous opportunity in the present to provide very valuable assistance to our communities. Those of us who are prepared to leave the past and enter into the new reality will reap a harvest of great psychic and financial reward. I invite you to join me in this endeavor.
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