Let's admit it . . . as a nation we've been partying very hard for a very long time, and now, in the midst of our collective hangover, we're looking for ways to sober up and find serenity. Who better than Bill W. and Dr. Bob to give us a hand?

1. We admitted we were powerless over the real estate market - that institutional financing had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a power greater than Fannie Mae or the FDIC could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of creative financing as we understood it.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of all the options available to us.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to a seller financing consultant the exact nature of our perceived limitations.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of consciousness.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our fear of the unknown.

8. Made a list of all the benefits we were looking for, and the risks we wanted to avoid, and became willing to honor them all.

9. Made direct offers to extend terms wherever possible, promising to protect lenders, ourselves and others through use of the proper seller financing strategy.

10. Continued to collect the payments, and when we owed the bank, promptly paid it.

11. Sought third party administration of our note or equity holding trust, praying for relief from acceleration, and the power to avoid the due-on-sale clause.

12. Having experienced empowerment as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to distressed buyers and sellers everywhere, and to practice flexibility in all our affairs.

Giving people hope and peace of mind by helping them unplug and empower themselves is one of my favorite things to do. Remember:

Whether you have equity,

Good underlying financing, or

Some combination of the two,

There's a perfect seller financing plan

That's right for you!