Kathy Wall

Loan Modifications – They Can Be Done! Lots of Patience Required!
July 14, 2010 · Kathy Wall · 3 Comments

I haven’t blogged in a long time, partially because I’ve been super busy with work, but also because I’ve been so wrapped up and worried about a loan modification that I had been trying to get on my house  since 2008.   Yes… I said 2008!    

This has been one of the most frustrating and stressful experiences of my life.    As mentioned, I started talking with the bank in late 2008.    Around July of 2009, they told me that I had qualified for a certain type of loan modification.   They gave me my new payment amount and I started paying that amount.   I paid them faithfully every month thereafter.     I was concerned, however, because I never received any formal paperwork and, because real estate is my job, I knew something had to be wrong.    I called them constantly and they kept telling me there was no problem, everything was “in process.”   

I believe it was in January this year that I returned home to find a letter from the bank in my mailbox.   The letter indicated that I was in default and that if I didn’t pay them $35,000 by a certain (very near) date, they would start foreclosure proceedings.    Needless to say, I freaked out.       Read more

Kathy Wall

Judging a Book by it’s Cover….Always a Mistake
February 3, 2009 · Kathy Wall · 8 Comments

At our office meeting this morning we discussed the fact that a large chain restaurant plans to offer free breakfasts to anyone who comes to their restaurant tomorrow.    I won’t be going, because I have been boycotting them for more years than I can remember, after reading (on many occasions and in several locations) that their corporate culture allowed employees to discriminate again African Americans.   I’ve never gone back since.  

This made me think about how important our public image is and how one wrong move can cost us a customer for life.    We need to be extremely conscious all the time about what we say and how we say it, both with our voices our physical gestures, and our written words.    A silly joke that someone finds offensive or the way we discuss a neighborhood at an open house…almost anything can have the potential to lose a client or hurt someone’s feelings. Read more

David Wang

Are Home Auctions a Good Deal for Buyers.
December 19, 2008 · David Wang · 3 Comments

                

Any type of real estate investment can be profitable.  Like the stock market real estate is about timing.  Auctions have become more prevalent in recent months and many buyers have asked if auctions are better deals than properties listed on MLS.

This very excellent question simplifies three bigger topics.  First are you interested in just the purchase price, without concern of repair or remodeling costs? Next, have you done all the research you need to do with regards to the property, traditional sales have a contingency removal period.  Finally will you be satisfied in focusing on the least desirable properties on the market.       Read more