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It is all a matter of perspective…
In last week’s article, our intention was to express our gratitude to all of the many readers who have voiced their appreciation for the words we have written in these pages that touched them in one way or another. The most common response has been “thank you for telling the truth.” From the many that find themselves in the unfavorable predicament of financial hardship while being desperately underwater in their home, the response has been “thank you for understanding and showing another path besides foreclosure.”
Again, this week, the response from readers was incredible and again we thank you. However, we did receive a passionate response from one gentleman who feels differently. The synopsis of his letter was that the homeowner, who is going into foreclosure, was at fault because he/she bought more home than he/she could afford and because of that, he/she deserves to lose the house. He went on to attack me personally (although I have never met this person) stating that I, through our advertising and articles are making the problem worse. Of course, I feel quite the opposite. However, since I know he is probably not the only one that feels this way, I thought I would put my response in this week’s edition.
Dear Mark,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and I agree with some of what you have to say, namely that there is plenty of blame to go around and yes we are in a “gigantic mess for years to come.” However, you are mistaken about many things. First of all, you are obviously unaware that there are now 45,000 homes in Phoenix that have a recorded notice of sale, most of which will be foreclosed upon in the next 90 days. Additionally, there are 10’s of thousands more homeowners who are in default around the valley and millions around the country – this is an epidemic. Moreover, it is reported that there are over 40,000 homes throughout PHX that are “shadow inventory.” These are homes that have already been foreclosed, but are not YET listed on the MLS.
No neighborhood has been spared, as there are vacant bank owned (or soon to be) homes from Queen Creek to Buckeye and from Laveen to Anthem, and every neighborhood regardless of price point in-between. Apparently, NO ONE needs any encouragement from us to let his or her home go back to the bank. To the contrary, what everyone needs is more education regarding options rather than just walking away.
We do not push people into doing short sales. We encourage them to do anything other than just walk away. While loan mods have been proven to help very few (less than 10%), we encourage homeowners to pursue every option possible, and if a loan mod is the right choice for them, we help them achieve the desired result. For the record, we do not charge for that help, in fact, all of our help costs our clients nothing.
Since 7 out of 10 foreclosures happen without any intervention, we are dedicated to informing valley residents what options other than foreclosure exist. If you or any of us ever expect to come out from this nightmare of an economy, much less the depressed real estate market, than the foreclosure crisis must be solved first.
What you (and others like you) fail to recognize is that most people that go into foreclosure have serious financial hardship. Most are victims of the worst economic times any of us have ever seen. A lot of these homeowners are in their 60’s and 70’s and have gone through their life savings in an attempt to hold onto their home only to end up broke. Many put very large sums of money down and some were victims of mortgage fraud. Of course, there have been investors who have just cut and run, but that is not who we assist. We help your neighbor who just lost thier job or the person down the street that found out he/she has cancer or the family who is transferred to another state for work or a thousands other genuine scenarios. We help good people who are in a very bad situation.
Furthermore, if you do not see how a short sale benefits you, then keep in mind that when a homeowner walks away (often times with everything including the kitchen sink), he/she leaves behind an abandoned property with knee high weeds and a mosquito infested pool that will only sell at a deep discount. A short sale keeps the homeowner vested in the property and it sells for more. This keeps your property value higher, which helps you and the community! Additionally, with a buyer who is financially stable as your neighbor, he/she can update the home and that helps you, the neighborhood, and local businesses that employ your neighbors. Furthermore, it saves the bank from another major hit: a crumbling balance sheet, which again helps you since it costs the taxpayer money every time a bank goes under or is bailed out. Considering there are still 3-4 being taken over every weekend by the FDIC, be prepared to continue footing the bill by way of higher taxes.
As for placing blame, one should hold responsible our government who is only bailing out the “Too Big Too Fail” meanwhile the rest of us have to fend for ourselves. Blame the banks (who are now receiving BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars) that created this house of cards through recklessly providing bad mortgages to anyone with a pulse. Meanwhile, these villains do NOTHING to help struggling homeowners. In the end, you can blame whomever you want, but blaming and complaining will not change a thing. Maybe it would be more productive to transform all the anger and help your neighbor down the street that is about to lose his/her house. Maybe he/she is not as lucky as you are, but remember luck always changes. I hope for your sake you never lose your job, your spouse, your health, or your child, but others around you have lost those things and because of that, they lose their home because they can’t sell it unless it’s through a Short Sale. We simply try to help those good people who legitimately need the help and along the way, that helps you.
For the record, I sleep very well at night because while I do make good money doing what I do, my motivation is to help others and because of that, I and other responsible Realtors, help you whether you realize it or not. Perhaps a bit extra compassion would achieve more!
Sincerely & Respectfully,
Robert Holt & Phil Mills,
the [HOLT] group, RE/MAX Sonoran Hills.
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