Real Estate Information

I had a co-worker ask me this morning how the Internet helped my marketing. I never had to hesitate before answering because in so many ways the Internet has enriched my business.

With my personality I like the ability to check out things and compare different site before I commit to purchase something. (Must be why I am such and ebay fan).  This seems to also be true of a lot of my on-line clients they like the anonymity of the Internet. The ability to check out other company websites and look at houses through sites such as Realtor.com or MLS.com and find what they desire before contacting an agent.

I know that when I make contact with someone as a result of our site that they are serious lookers and interested in either selling or buying. Maybe not right this minute but they are gathering information and preparing themselves with knowledge so when they do choose their agent they will have some ideal of their background and market area.

Does this bother us as agents? Not a bit it actually makes our job a whole lot easier. We have had customers comment on our photos of the dogs or other such things and it makes a connection for us. It is an ice breaker many times upon first meeting.

By using the Internet as a marketing tool we have the ability to update and change listing instantly. If we take pictures when a homeowner is moving out we can then go back and update when they are totally moved out. It does not have to go through a third party just us. We are able to stay on top of our inventory and serve our clients better.

Does it bother me that customers  check out several other sites? Heck no! When they choose us we know they have looked over the competition and we placed. Thats a good thing, and we expect it.

So to go back to the start of this post do we embrace the Internet as a buying tool for homes in todays market? Of course we do, We have actually sold several homes site unseen over the Internet. ( A little scary  but true). We just take tons of pics and upload them on a site for the buyer to check out and then we go back and take more where needed. We now have the ability to do a veri sign and our contracts are all done on the Internet, They just have to show up for closing.  There are a lot of investors who buy and never see the property they are buying based upon our recommendation and pictures and the mls info. The Internet makes this easy and accessible  when in the past it was snail mail.

So don't be afraid to check us out or or competition! We love what the Internet can do for you as a buyer or a seller. It is a great tool and one that almost all home owners go to first.

Well enough of my rambling just thought I would post. Have a great weekend

 

• The credit is $3,750 for married couples filing separately. Unmarried people who jointly purchase a home will be able to divide the $7,500 credit.

• This program is actually a loan, which home buyers must repay over 15 years at zero percent interest beginning in the second year after they purchase the home. A home buyer who qualified for the whole credit would pay $500 for 15 years or about $41.67 per month.

• The credit applies only to homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008, and before July 1, 2009.

• High-income home buyers don’t qualify: Eligibility begins phasing out for single filers with adjusted income of more than $75,000 and $150,000 for joint filers. It completely phases out at $95,000 for singles and $170,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Source: The Washington Post, Michelle Singletary (07/03/08)

This article is for all of you who ask Brandy and I about your credit scores. This is advice I have heard over the years from many lender on the mistakes customer make with their credit. Make sure you understand your credit score and how important it is to your home buying experience. As the rules for mortgages change daily, you have more negotiating power with a higer credit score then a lower one. Lenders base the rates they quote you on your credit score.  So with the economy we are experiencing now, it helps to have a good credit score and some money in the bank. Gone are the days of 100% financing. So arm yourself with knowledge when you start shopping rates.

Jacque

 

 

Click Here to Learn More About CreditCRM

It's surprising how many consumers make the same credit scoring mistakes over and over again. In an effort to educate consumers on credit and credit scoring, we've compiled 5 common credit scoring mistakes into a list that defines each mistake and explains why they are bad and how to avoid them:

Credit Mistake #1: Closing Credit Cards Accounts

This is probably THE biggest credit mistake that consumers make. What you may find surprising is that closing credit card accounts can hurt your credit score almost as badly as missing a payment.

Not only is this the number one on the top five credit scoring mistakes, it's also number one on the list of credit myths.

Ironically, most consumers make this mistake based on poor advice from a mortgage lender as a strategy for improving their credit scores. A word of advice people, when you're dealing with something as sensitive as your credit and credit scores, make sure you do your homework before trusting some of these so called 'industry experts' before following through with their advice.

There are two important reasons why you should not close credit card accounts:

Why would this be a bad thing?

It's simple - you never want to get rid of old, positive information in your credit reports. This information actually helps your credit scores.

Credit scores want to see this positive account information. They want to see your long, perfect history of making your payments on time because this information significantly helps your credit scores.

This information significantly helps your credit scores so why would you ever want that history to disappear? You wouldn't! Here's an analogy for you: let's say you made straight A's in high school. What if the record of that perfect scholastic accomplishment were permanently deleted seven years after you graduated? Would you ever want that history deleted? Of course you wouldn't. The same is true for the credit reporting environment.

So, what should you do with old credit cards that you don't use any longer?

What you don't want to do is to let the account become inactive. When this happens, the credit card companies aren't generating any revenue for your account.

Eventually they'll close the unused account because you're more of a liability than an asset. You can prevent this from happening by using the card every few months for low dollar purchases like dinner or a tank of gas.

When the bill comes in, just pay it in full. If you do this, it will ensure that the account will never be closed and you'll always get credit for your good payment history.

So how will closing unused credit cards hurt your credit score? When you close an account, the amount of available credit decreases, which could result in a higher revolving utilization and lower your score.

Let's use the example from above and close the second unused credit card account. When you close the account, you remove it from any utilization calculation and now you're stuck with one open credit card account with a $1,000 limit and a $500 balance.

This caused your utilization to go from 25% to 50%.

Remember, you divide the total balance by the total available limit so $500 divided by $1,000 is .50 or 50%. As this percentage increases, your credit score decreases.

When you're talking about several unused credit cards with high limits, you can just imagine what closing credit card accounts could do. I've seen consumers go from a 10% utilization to almost 100% utilization because they closed all of their credit card accounts except the one they were currently using.

Big mistake.

Credit Mistake #2: Missing Payments

It doesn't take a credit scoring expert to tell you that missing payments is a bad thing. The only reason I made missing payments second to Closing Credit Card Accounts is because this one is a no brainer.

It shouldn't take a credit expert to tell you that missing payments is bad. Common sense should tell you that missing payments is bad. Credit scores are designed to predict how likely you are to miss payments in the future.

This means that they look at your credit history to view how you've managed all of your credit obligations.

Missed payments is the most powerful predictor of future late payments. The FICO score evaluates previous late payments in three different layers:

How Severe - How severe is the late payment? It doesn't take a statistician to tell you that a 30-day late isn't as bad as a 90-day late. The more severe the late payment, the more damaging it is going to be to your credit scores.

Consumers who have missed payments by a few weeks and then bring their accounts current score much better than consumers that have gone 90+ days past due. In fact, a 90-day past due is the threshold that will wreak havoc on your scores.

If you are unable to avoid a late payment, the next best option is to get those accounts current as quickly as you can.

How Recent - How long ago did the late payment occur?

If you've read some of my previous articles on credit scoring, you'll know that the last 24 months of your credit history are critical because the FICO score places more emphasis on your recent credit patterns.

This means that a late payment 6 months ago is going to carry much more weight than a late payment from 4 years ago. To recover from late payments it's important that you get current and stay current.

How Frequent - How often have the late payments occurred? Consumers that miss payments frequently are penalized much more severely than those that have missed a payment here or there in their past.

If you have a tendency to make late payments your credit scores will reflect your bad habits. Make your payments on time and you'll never have to worry about losing points in this category.

Credit Mistake #3: Settling Accounts

One of the most common mistakes consumers make is assuming that 'settling' with a lender is a great way to save a little cash.

Unfortunately, they don't realize what that a 'settled' indicator in their credit reports is actually derogatory.

"Settling" is a term used in the consumer credit industry that means accepting less than the amount you owe on an account. For example, if you owe a credit card company $5,000 but you can't pay them the full amount then they will likely make you a deal for less than that full amount. They have "settled" for less than the full amount, which is likely much less than you contractually owe them.

This may seem like a good idea because you save quite a bit of money but as far as the credit scoring models are concerned, this is just as negative as other severe late payments.

The only way to avoid the damage to your credit scores is to arrange a deal with the lender to report the account as 'paid in full' as opposed to 'settled'. If they don't agree then it's in your best interest to figure out how to pay them in full or else be prepared to suffer the damage to your credit for the next 7 years.

It's also important to understand that if the account has already made it to the collection phase, the damage is already severe and settling won't really make a difference. Settling is only an option if the account has already made it to a severe delinquency state. 

Credit Mistake #4: High Revolving Utilization on Your Credit Cards

Most consumers believe that making your payments on time is all it takes to have good credit and earn great credit scores.

What they don't realize is that almost a third of your score is determined by how much you owe on your credit card accounts. If you have high balances on your credit card accounts, you're credit scores could be severely impacted by your revolving utilization.

In order to score the most possible points in this category, I advise keeping your revolving utilization at 10% or less.

Don't be fooled when you hear some of these celebrity experts telling you that 50%, 30% or even 25% is best.

While 30% is considerably better than 50%, 10% or less is ideal. The lower the utilization percentage, the better your score will be. (*To read more about revolving utilization and how it's calculated, please read the revolving utilization bullet in Mistake #1.)

Credit Mistake #5: Excessively Applying for Credit

Whenever you apply for credit your application gives the lender permission to access your credit reports. When they pull your credit reports, it automatically posts an inquiry in your credit record. This inquiry is a record of who pulled your credit report and the date it occurred. 

Credit scoring models use inquires to determine if and when you shop for credit. Statistics show that consumers who have more inquiries are higher credit risks than those with fewer inquiries.

It is for this reason that the more inquiries you have, the more points you lose in the credit score calculation.

The exact point value of inquiries is a much argued topic and is impossible to give an exact point value because it really depends on all of the other information included in your individual credit file.

The best strategy would be to only apply for credit when you absolutely need to.

This means that you should avoid those in store offers of "10% off" in exchange for applying for a store credit card. This may sound like a great idea but the reality is that while you may save a few bucks on your purchase, those inquiries could end up costing you a lower credit score which could result in higher interest rates on auto or mortgage loans in the future.

There you have it. Now that you know the top 5 credit mistakes, you can avoid making the same mistakes that so many other consumers make.

The following is an article that came to me via email that actually shines a ray of light in the current market. Is the worst over? Hard to say but I do think we are seeing a rise in the sales of resale homes and new homes at least in Warner Robins continues to be steady. We are still building homes for buyers the only difference we see is that they need money in the bank now. Gone are the days of 100% financing and no money down. So if your in the market save your pennys because when you go to apply your gonna need em.

Have a great week and give us a call if you have any questions.

 

By: Hanley Wood

Fannie & Freddie on Rocks
Fears of a meltdown in the financial system have sent shockwaves across the markets in the past several days.  Financials are still reeling from the effects of the meltdown in the mortgage markets.  These issues have now brought into question the stability of the two large government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which back or own nearly half of all outstanding national residential mortgage debt.  The collapse of the two would be near catastrophic but is also highly unlikely.  The real issue is if they have enough capital to ride out the current storm or will the Federal Reserve need to intervene in order to keep the two afloat. 

While the Fed played a key role in the JPM acquisition of Bear Stearns, the question is whether they should OR can continue to bail out these faltering financial institutions.  In the case of Fannie and Freddie, it’s reasonable to assume the federal government will not allow them to fail, but the ramifications in terms of regulation and fiscal burden for taxpayers could be significant.

Pending existing home sales figures released by the National Association of Realtors continued to show weaker conditions in the housing market.  With the current distress in the financial markets, heightened inflationary pressures and the weakening economy, we can expect to see more downward pressure on housing in the near-term.  After plunging over $9/barrel over a two-day period earlier in the week, crude prices rebounded on Friday to trade at new all-time intraday highs of over $147/barrel due to geopolitical concerns in Brazil and Iran.  The markets seemed poised for a rough second half of the year as rising food and energy costs, stumbling housing and financial markets, and geopolitical concerns surround the upcoming Presidential election.

The Economy
The economy continued to shed jobs in June as non-farm payrolls have no declined in all six months so far this year.  There was a seasonally-adjusted 62,000 jobs lost in June while payrolls have dropped by 438,000 since the beginning of the year.  Non-seasonally adjusted total non-farm employment in June was 167,000 lower than in June 2007.  Currently, non-seasonally adjusted total non-farm employment shows a figure of 138,624,000, a loss of 0.12% from over June 2007.  The unemployment rate remained unchanged from the previous month at 5.5%.

Final estimates for first quarter gross domestic product were revised slightly higher to 1.0% from the preliminary figure of 0.9%. First quarter growth was revised higher with each estimate during the first three months of the year. Many had expected the economy to contract during the first quarter due to the credit crunch and the continued troubles in the financial and housing markets.  Slight positive revisions to both consumer and government spending along with increased exports helped to improve economic expansion during the quarter.

Housing Market
National average mortgage rates increased slightly to 6.37% in the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey released weekly by Freddie Mac on July 10th.  Rates have now posted weekly increases in six out of the past seven weeks.  In the week ending July 4th, the MBA’s seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index increased to 365.8 from 342.8 in the previous week.  This is the second straight week that purchase applications have increased while reaching their highest levels in a month.  The latest figure reflects a 6.71 percent increase from last week but a 19.41 percent drop from the same period last year.

New and existing home sales moved in opposite directions again in May but it was the existing home market that showed improvement while new home sales faltered.  New home sales declined in May after posting its first monthly gain since October 2007 last month.  Sales fell 2.5% in May to a seasonally-adjusted 512,000 homes, down from a revised April figure of 525,000.  At the current sales pace, there are 10.9 months of new homes supply on the market.  New home inventory declined to 450,000 which is the lowest it has been since May 2005.  In May, median new home prices fell back to their lowest levels since March to $231,000 after posting a strong rebound in the previous month.  Lower prices helped to increase the new home affordability ratio to 48.8% in May.

Annualized sales of total existing homes in May increased for the first time since February, rising 2.0% from April levels to 4,990,000 units.  Sales of existing homes are still down 15.9% from the 5.93 million units in May 2007.  Median existing home prices in May increased for the third straight month to $208,600 from a revised $201,200 in April.  This is the highest median existing home prices have been since November 2007.  The number of existing homes for sale declined 1.4% to 4.485 million units in May.  At the current sales pace, there are 10.8 months of existing homes supply on the market.  Existing home affordability declined for the third straight month due to increases in both mortgage rates and existing home prices in May.

About the Author

Hanley Wood: Hanley Wood Market Intelligence is the housing industry’s leading independent real estate research firm providing residential construction information and analysis for real estate development and new-home construction. Builders, developers, lenders, and manufacturers turn to Market Intelligence products and services to fuel their strategic decisions. The Key Indicator newsletter is a free publication to over 25,000 industry professionals and provides an overview of recent economic trends and analysis. Visit us at www.hwmarketintelligence.com or call 1.800.639.3777

Respect the Flag

 

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When you see the Stars and Stripes displayed, son, stand up and take off your hat. Somebody may titter. It is in the blood of some to deride all expression of noble sentiment. You may blaspheme in the street and stagger drunken in public places, and the bystanders will not pay much attention to you; but if you should get down on your knees and pray to Almighty God, or if you should stand bareheaded while a company of old soldiers marches by with flags to the breeze, some people will think you are showing off.

But don't you mind! When Old Glory comes along, salute, and let them think what they please! When you hear the band play "The Star-Spangled Banner" while you are in a restaurant or hotel dining room, get up even if you rise alone; stand there and don't be ashamed of it, either!

For of all the signs and symbols since the world began there is none other so full of meaning as the flag of this country. That piece of red, white and blue bunting means five thousand years of struggle upward. It is the full-grown flower of ages of fighting for liberty. It is the century plant of human hope in bloom.

Your flag stands for humanity, for an equal opportunity to all the sons of men. Of course we haven't arrived yet at that goal; there are many injustices yet among us, many senseless and cruel customs of the past still clinging to us, but the only hope of righting the wrongs of men lies in the feeling produced in our bosoms by the sight of that flag.

Other flags mean a glorious past, this flag a glorious future. It is not so much the flag of our fathers as it is the flag of our children, and of all children's children yet unborn. It is the flag of tomorrow. It is the signal of the "Good Time Coming." It is not the flag of your king?it is the flag of yourself and of all your neighbors.

Don't be ashamed when your throat chokes and the tears come, as you see it flying from the masts of our ships on all the seas or floating from every Flagstaff of the Republic. You will never have a worthier emotion. Reverence it as you would reverence the signature of the Deity.

Listen, son! The band is playing the national anthem?"The Star-Spangled Banner!" They have let loose Old Glory yonder. Stand up?and others will stand with you.

This tribute to the flag is offered to the country in appeal to all men and women of all races, colors and tongues, that they may come to understand that our flag is the symbol of liberty and learn to love it.

Memorial Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Memorial Day is a United States Federal Holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May (observed in 2008 on May 26). It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. It began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it was expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. One of the longest standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911. It is also traditionally viewed as the beginning of summer by many, since many schools are dismissed around Memorial Day.

To follow with that little bit of information I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day and don't forget to honor those who serve in the military. Remember they voluntarily choose to join to protect your freedom. So when you see a solider or a vet let them know you appreciate what they did or do.

Short sales is a hot new buzz word in Real Estate lingo. What happens is that a Seller finds that thier home will not sale for the price they would like, and then they start to wonder if they should do a short sale. It is not a guaranteed out and it does not always solve the problem.

A short sale happens when the lender is shorted on a mortgage, meaning the lender accepts less than the total amount that is due. If your mortgage is $100,000, but your home is worth, say, $90,000, you are $10,000 short, not including costs to close the sale such as real estate commissions, recording fees or title and escrow charges.

Sometimes, to avoid going through the costs of foreclosure,  a lender will sanction a short sale by letting a buyer purchase the home for less than the mortgage balance while the home is in pre-foreclosure stage.

What this means to you is that you must have a ready willing and able buyer.

A pre-foreclosure stage is one of the three stages of foreclosures.

Here are sample steps of a short sale:

 

• Seller signs a listing agreement with a real estate agent subject to selling as a short sale with third-party approval.

   

• The agent finds a buyer who makes an offer for less than the amount of the mortgage.

   

• Seller accepts the buyer's purchase offer.

   

• Seller's lender accepts the buyer's purchase offer.

   

• Transaction closes when the buyer delivers the funds, the lender releases the lien and the seller delivers the deed.

In fairy-tale land, everybody lives happily ever after. Except the seller. There are consequences.

 

 

Qualifications for a Short Sale

Before you eagerly climb aboard the short sale bandwagon, consider the following to determine whether you may qualify for a short sale. If you cannot answer yes to all four requirements, you may not qualify for a short sale.

 

• The Home's Market Value Has Dropped.

  Hard comparable sales must substantiate that the home is worth less than the unpaid balance due the lender. This unpaid balance may include a prepayment penalty.

   

• The Mortgage is in or Near Default Status.

  It used to be that lenders would not consider a short sale if the payments were current, but that is no longer the case. Realizing that other factors contribute to a potential default, many lenders are eager to head off future problems at the pass.

   

• The Seller Has Fallen on Hard Times.

  The seller must submit a letter of hardship that explains why the seller can not pay the difference due upon sale, including why the seller has or will stop making the monthly payments.

  A few examples that do NOT constitute a hardship are:

   

  1. Bad purchase decisions. Blowing your paycheck on a home theater system with surround sound does not qualify as a hardship.
  2. Unhappy with the neighbors. Even if every home on your block has turned into pot growing houses, that will not qualify as a hardship.
  3. Buying another home. The lender will not care if you have decided the home is no longer suitable for you or your family.
  4. Pregnancy. Increasing the size of your family or starting a family is not considered a hardship.
  5. Moving into an apartment. If you decide to move out of your home, that is a lifestyle decision and not a very good reason to abandon your home.

   

  Examples of hardship are:

   

  1. Unemployment
  2. Divorce
  3. Medical emergency / sudden illness
  4. Bankruptcy
  5. Death

   

• The Seller Has No Assets

  The lender will probably want to see a copy of the seller's tax returns and / or a financial statement. If the lender discovers assets, the lender may not grant the short sale because the lender will feel that the seller has the ability to pay the shorted difference. Sellers with assets may still be granted a short sale but could be required to pay back the shortfall.

  For example, if the seller has cash in a savings account, owns other real estate, stocks, bonds or even IRA accounts, the lender will most likely determine that the seller has assets. However, the lender might discount the amount the seller is required to pay back.

  Many entities profit from short sales, but there is no seller short sale profit.

   

 

Short Sale Consequences

A short sale is dependent on a buyer making an offer to purchase. If you do not receive an offer, you will not qualify for a short sale. So even if you meet all the other criteria, it is possible that no one will buy the short sale. It is also dependent on the lender accepting the buyer's offer. If the lender rejects the offer, a short sale will not take place.

 

• Tax Consequences

  If the lender agrees to the short sale, the lender may possess the right to issue you a 1099 for the shorted difference, due to a provision in the IRS code about debt forgiveness. Many situations are exempt from debt forgiveness, according to the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.

  You should speak to a real estate lawyer and a tax accountant to determine the amount of short sale tax consequences, and whether you can afford to pay those taxes, if any.

   

• Blemished Credit Report

  A short sale will show up on your credit report. It's a pre-foreclosure that has been redeemed. Short sales affect credit ratings. While the damage to your credit report may not seem as significantly bad as a foreclosure to you, creditors may not make the distinction. Experts say the drop in your FICO score is identical to a foreclosure reporting.

Always seek legal counsel before attempting to pursue a short sale. A real estate agent cannot give you legal advice.

Most of this article is attributed to:

Elizabeth Weintraub

This man really has some good advice. Once think he did not mention was a short sale I will be posting another blog on short sales so be sure to read that one also.

Jacque

By John Adams
Contributor
Published on: 03/23/08

Today, some recent home buyers are finding themselves squeezed between an unusually slow resale market and little, if any, appreciation in the past couple of years. In fact, in some areas, homes have actually declined in value, based on ability to resell in today's market. To make matters worse, you may have accepted an adjustable rate loan when you bought, hoping that you could sell for a fast profit before your loan payments increased to unaffordable levels.

Now you can't afford to make the new, higher payments. And you can't sell for enough to cover the high-balance mortgage that covers your property. You are literally stuck in an untenable situation.

What are your options?

> Call your lender and ask for help. Many lenders are smart enough to know that taking the house back after a foreclosure is a losing proposition for them as well as you. They will likely have to sell the house for less than the amount owed on the loan, and your credit will be severely damaged for several years to come.

What you may not know is that your lender might be able to restructure the loan in such a way that you can afford the monthly payments. The lender can offer to recast the loan, a process in which the loan is re-amortized based on a longer period of repayment in order to lower your monthly payments. Recasting is most effective if you have paid on the current loan for 10 years or longer and becomes less helpful for newer loans.

The lender can also agree to replace the loan with another loan, perhaps with graduated annual payments, so that you could continue to live in the house and continue to make payments on a timely basis. If the proposed monthly principal and interest payments are less than the currently accruing interest payments, you may be looking at a negative amortization loan in which the principal loan balance actually increases each month that the payment fails to cover the interest charge. As a result, your loan balance goes up instead of down on a monthly basis. If the home is not increasing in value, such a loan simply postpones your original problem by digging your debt hole deeper month after month. The only time I might recommend a negative amortization loan is when you are certain you will have an improved financial condition on a future date, such as an inheritance or a large bonus payment at year-end. Even then, it's rarely a good idea to enter into a plan to go deeper into debt on a continuing basis. If your lender is open to negotiating a replacement loan, try to avoid any negative amortization. Unfortunately, your options get less attractive from here:

> Next, you might ask if the lender would be willing to accept a "deed in lieu of foreclosure" with a release of liability. In this scenario, you agree to transfer ownership of the house to the lender along with the keys on a certain date. In exchange, the lender agrees to accept the house as payment in full, and to release you from any further liability in connection with the loan.

Unfortunately, few lenders find this option to be in their best interest. They may agree to take back the house to avoid the foreclosure process but will sell the house for whatever they can get and then seek payment from you for any deficiency. In these negotiations, it may be helpful to have an attorney talk to the lender's representatives on your behalf.

> Finally, if all else fails and the lender is planning on selling your house at a foreclosure auction, there is still one course of action you might consider. You may wish to seek protection from your creditors under a petition for bankruptcy.

The filing of a bankruptcy petition acts as an automatic stay on the process of nonjudicial foreclosure, and the lender is prevented from taking any further collection action until the bankruptcy court has reviewed the circumstances surrounding your case.

However, filing a petition of bankruptcy is not an action you should consider lightly, as it can have devastating consequences for your credit and your ability to purchase a home in the future. I strongly recommend that you talk with an attorney who can answer all your questions before taking this step.

Find more articles by John Adams online at ajchomefinder.com.

John my wonderful husband of 25 years and I are building a new house. What an endeavor it has been as well as a wonderful learning experience. I really thought I knew a lot about the construction phases of building and I guess I really do but I have been humbled and I have learned so much more.

Do you know that in the process of building a house you have close to 100 inspections? Yeah well neither did I.

One of Joel's young friends whose family built a house a couple of years ago went out to the construction site and we were just finishing the framing and he said "Yeah now it is gonna sit like this for a month." I thought he's crazy I have a good builder he knows what he doing and I will see progress. Well need I say Will was right we did not see the kind of progress my kids and husband thought we would see, instead we saw the HVAC unit installed the plumbing was plumbed, the electrical was wired but still no walls. I watched and learned.

I wish I had done this when I first started selling Real Estate because it has opened my eyes to so many things. Like patience which I do not normally have a wealth of but as I get way older I am learning (not that John would agree). We are now in painting stage and still have a ways to go. I have not enjoyed having to make all the selection choices that has been a little stressful. Thank God for good friends and business associates who's taste and judgment I trust. They have made me laugh and actually secretly enjoy things that would have frustrated me in the past.

But out of all of this I think the most important thing I have learned is that you need to trust your builder. To have a relationship built on trust is so important I have deferred to my builders judgment more times in this process then I can tell you. My standard line is "What do you think I should do?"  All I know is I am getting the kitchen I have always dreamed of what more do I care about?

Well to all of you who have built or to those of you who hope one day to build, embrace the experience but make sure you have a great builder and a lot of time and a great spouse all the rest will fall into place.