What is wrong with everybody? Has all common sense left the people of this country? We are clearly in the middle of the Perfect Storm for bad news. Economy is in a recession, housing prices won’t stop falling, people are losing their jobs and most importantly people are afraid to spend money.

Now that the election and inauguration are over, let’s get back to business. I can sit here at my computer and quote statistics. Is that really what we need? What we need is someone to speak the truth (in love). There are talks of the economic stimulus package. People are all fired up about giving money to the big three car makers, the banks, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, where does it end? The problem is that these are all short term fixes for long term challenges. The U.S. government will be in debt for over $1.2 trillion dollars for fiscal 2009. As bad as that sounds, the individual family is the one I am concerned about. Believe it or not, most folks have credit card debt, mortgages and home equity lines of credit (not to mention a car or lease payment). We have become a nation living on what we have been able to borrow over the last ten years.

Through this last wave of the housing boom, some people made a lot of money. It was not uncommon to see 10-20% increases per year in the value of homes. People were using their homes as an ATM. I spoke with a man who had refinanced his home four times in a 2 year period. He had originally paid around $250,000 for his home. By the time he was done refinancing for the fourth time, he owed over $450,000. Prices were increasing and he was using his home as an additional source of income. There are many stories just like this. The banks were giving money away like candy. Unfortunately most of us didn’t have the capacity to say no.

People are talking that this recession is really like the Great Depression. Something to remember about the Great Depression is that right before it we had the Roaring 20s a time of great speculation and wealth. Does anyone remember what preceded this current “crash”? I remember in the late 1990s when people were speculating on Technology stocks. In March of 2001, that “bubble burst”. People had lost money in the stock market and their 401k accounts. They took their money out of the stock market and started investing in Real Estate. When prices are increasing most people are happy. The Real Estate industry as a whole is making money. The real problem that we faced is that in our hearts, some people believed that Real Estate would never stop increasing. What we have now is a cyclical shaking out of the past 6 years.

I specialize in Short Sales and Foreclosures, two things that most homeowners don’t want to talk about. Unfortunately I come in contact with people everyday who are underwater. Meaning, the value of their home is less than what they owe. Who is helping that person if they can’t make their payments? Some folks believe that they can keep borrowing and eventually get caught up. What ends up happening is that they can go for a time (as long as they have access to credit). Once the credit lines have been exhausted they have to face a stark reality that perhaps this isn’t going to work out. Some people will tell me that they are going to hang on until the market comes back. I wonder if any of those people are still holding on to intel (it was at over $70 a share in 2001 – it is listed around $14 a share 8 years later). The reality of our Real Estate market is that we need to move this inventory. If people can’t afford their homes, they should sell them! It is possible to sell your home for less than what you owe and be able to start the next chapter in your life. Find someone who has been helping these families. Have a phone conversation. Do something! Being proactive will help you keep your dignity. Don’t sit still and wait for something bad to happen.

Get Educated. Get Empowered.

For more information on this or any other topic, call Sal Poliandro, Realtor, Marketing Advisor,

Short Sale Specialist ePRO, SRES at 201-259-2187,

visit our websites: www.SalAndDawn.com or www.shortsaleguy.org

Sal can be reached by snail mail at RE/MAX Properties 73 East Allendale Road Saddle River, NJ 07458