Real Estate - Buy, Sell & Be Green

Could Helping Others Lead To Happiness?

mygreenhut — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:59:59 +0000

An ancient legend tells of a warrior who died and went to heaven. Before entering, he told his guide that he wanted to see what hell was like. The guide showed him the way.

The warrior saw a table overflowing with wonderful food and drink. Around the table, however, was a crowd of starving people. He saw that they all had to eat with were utensils that were five feet long and had to be held at the ends. The people were unable to get any food into their mouths, so they were forced to sit in front of the feast without being able to satisfy their hunger. It was indeed hellish, he thought, and he readily followed the guide up to heaven.

He was surprised to see that heaven also held a table laden with wonderful food and a rule that everyone had to eat with five-foot-long utensils held at the end. But here the people were healthy and happy.

He asked the guide, “Why are these souls in heaven so happy, and those in hell so miserable, when both have the same difficulty satisfying their hunger?”

The guide smiled and said, “Because the people here in heaven have learned to feed each other.”

I’d love to hear about your happiness, let me know by posting your comments, emailing me at Debra@DebraSchwartz.com or calling me at 408-558-6644

Debra

Do You Bend, Harden Or Blend?

mygreenhut — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:35:52 +0000

When a young woman went to her mother and told her how hard her life was, her mother responded by taking her to the kitchen and filling three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots. In the second she placed eggs. And in the last, she placed ground coffee. She put all three pots on the stove and brought them to a boil. She then fished the carrots and eggs out and placed each in a bowl. She ladled the coffee out and placed it in a mug. Turning to her daughter, she said, “Tell me what you see.”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied. She asked her daughter to feel the carrots. She did, and noted that they felt soft. She asked her to crack an egg and peel it. When she did, she saw the hard-boiled egg inside. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich flavor.

The daughter then asked, “So, what’s the point, mom?” Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity – boiling water – but each had reacted differently. The carrot went in strong and hard, but softened in the hot water. After sitting in boiling water, the egg’s insides had hardened. The coffee was unique, however. After it was in the boiling water, it had actually changed the water itself.

“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Ask yourself, am I the carrot? It seems strong, but with adversity, do I yield and soften? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but becomes firm with the heat? Or am I like the coffee bean? The coffee changes the water. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst can you change the situation around you, or do you let it change you?”

Each response to change has its own value. How do you handle the heat?

Please feel comfortable sharing this story and your thoughts.

We’re making progress

mygreenhut — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:35:40 +0000

After one rejection from the short sale department at Chase and nearly 8 weeks of being back on the market, our new offer is in for a decision. Gratefully, the Realtor who rendered a broker price opinion was more realistic in his appraisal and the counter offer we received from the bank was within a reasonable range of the offer price. The buyer is unable to increase the price because the home needs about $125K of work so we are in the process of negoiating with the bank to have them accept the buyers initial offer. We’ll hear more in 5-7 business days.

Would You Let Your Music Go Unplayed?

mygreenhut — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:58:01 +0000

Many years ago, violinist Itzhak Perlman gave a performance in New York. During the concert one of the strings on his violin suddenly broke. The crowd gasped at the sound, which could be heard throughout the entire auditorium, and the music abruptly came to a stop.

The crowd waited patiently for Mr. Perlman to replace the string. However, much to everyone’s surprise, Perlman didn’t rush to find a new string. He took a moment to gather himself before he motioned for the conductor to begin playing again where the orchestra had left off! For the remainder of the concert, Perlman played the music that should have been played on four strings on only three.

As Itzhak finished playing, for a moment, time slowed and silence filled the air then the audience rose to its feet to offer a standing ovation for this incredible feat. Perlman smiled and humbly raised his bow. “You know,” he told them, “sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.”

In life, when something breaks, does the loss stop us or do we continue making music with what we have?

Lost in space

mygreenhut — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:49:11 +0000

After sending via Fed X a photo copy of dozens of documents 3-holed punhed in a bright purple binder, Chase managed to lose a few pages of the listing agreement. I’m faxing these today – processing time 2 hours to 48 hours.

The legal department says they didn’t record the notice of default that was sent to them in mid August because they still need to append the file with some paperwork – processing time unknown. This is a good thing. Means I still have plenty of time to negotiate a sale with Chase – assuming they don’t lose any more paperwork.

Robo something or other…

mygreenhut — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 23:58:24 +0000

So… my short sale listing finally hit a price point that would cause it to sell (again), so we’re back in business with a new accepted offer. When my seller was in to sign the contract, she brought a letter she received from her lender relating to the transfer of her EMC mortgage to Chase. Somewhere in the body of the letter it said she was in foreclosure. I called Chase to find out why the letter said that. While the seller is behind on her payments, she hasn’t received a notice of default from the bank. I was told by Chase that there was an NOD filed more than a month ago in August and I needed to contact their legal department.

It IS common practice for a lender to proceed with a foreclosure during the short sale, and common practice for the lender to hold off with a new offer on the table. Lately notices haven’t been filed so quickly. What strikes me as more odd than that is that when I ordered an updated title report last week, this notice of default (which should be recorded) didn’t show up. I asked the title department to run the records again and still no notice shows up. Could this be another case of an automated system that doesn’t work? It’ll be interesting to find out what could happen if the lender created the notice of default document but never recorded it and then tried to proceed with a foreclosure. Will keep you posted.

No wonder the average short sale takes 240+ days

mygreenhut — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:01:16 +0000

I’m on my 3rd price reduction since the bank decided my fixer upper in Campbell was worth $710K. We have no new buyers. One more price reduction to go before we are at the original list price. Two buyers are waiting for that next price reduction. No new buyers are interested at the current price. of $608,750. No wonder these short sales take so long.

Don’t You Know It’s OK To Cry?

mygreenhut — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:06:30 +0000

A teenage babysitter was taking care of a 4-year-old girl whose mother had gone on an overnight trip. As the day went on, the child grew more and more anxious, and nothing seemed to help—the little girl wanted her mom.

Eventually the tears began, and the babysitter tried everything she could think of to calm the child. Soon she was just as agitated as the 4-year-old, frustrated by her inability to make everything right. The struggle went on—the harder the child cried, the more forcefully the babysitter shushed her. Until finally the 4-year-old paused for breath, looked up at the older girl, and said clearly: “Don’t you know? It’s OK to cry!”

The babysitter—blogger Sara Williams—realized that the child was right. It is OK to cry, especially if you’re 4 years old, and it’s also OK to admit that you can’t control everything around you—no matter how old you are.

This story is a reminder of the simple wisdom of the small and new to this world. Sharing our experiences and letting out our frustrations is just plain healthy and doing so helps us put those things behind us so we can move forward and be ready for the good things that are right around the corner.

Best wishes,
Debra

FREE home energy performance analysis

mygreenhut — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 22:28:48 +0000

I was asked to pass along this information to homeowners I know. If you’d like understand how energy efficient your home is, and what can be done to improve, you can get a free assessment by volunteering you home as a training ground between September 6th and 9th.

BPI (Building Performance Institute) Field Mentoring Home Criteria CBPCA is looking for suitable homes to use for field mentoring for BPI-certified contractors in the Bay Area. These field mentoring sessions allow contractors to gain offer comprehensive recommendations to improve the efficiency, comfort, safety, and durability of your home.

A suitable home should include the following features:
1. Not too big, not too small (1500-2500sf)
2. Both electric and gas services in use
3. Natural gas water heater and/or furnace located in garage or living space
4. No unusual design layout
5. Not too precious (white carpet etc.)
6. Easy attic access (must have an attic)
7. Attic insulation has not been recently upgraded
8. The house has an HVAC system with ductwork
9. No known asbestos or mold problems
10. No historic (vintage) homes

Generally, we are looking for the HVAC equipment to be easily accessible. It’s a plus to have a home’s utility bills available for the past year at the time of training to understand the heating and AC history. Please know that you will receive only verbal feedback on the performance of your home. You are encouraged to be present during the entire training and ask as many questions as you would like. You may be the subject of a short homeowner interview demonstration where the trainer will ask you questions about your homes comfort issues. Typically the training takes place from 8:30AM to 4:30PM.
Take this opportunity to observe and enjoy learning ways to improve your homes efficiency!

IF YOUR HOME FITS THE ABOVE CRITERIA, CONTACT CBPCA AND TELL US YOU WANT TO VOLUNTEER YOUR HOME AND LEARN MORE ABOUT RESIDENTIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY!
Please contact Kristin at CBPCA at Kristin@thecbpca.org or 510-788-0463
Volunteer your house (or one you know) for BPI-Certified Field Mentoring and learn about the energy efficiency of your home!
Call CBPCA 510-788-0463

Where Do Creative Thinkers Come From?

mygreenhut — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 20:47:08 +0000

Gordon McKenzie, a well-known creative force at Hallmark Cards, often visited schools to talk about his work. He usually opened his talks by introducing himself as an artist. Then he’d ask the students, “How many of you are artists?”

In kindergarten and first-grade classes, nearly every hand shot up. In the second-grade classroom, about three-quarters of the class would typically raise their hands, but not as eagerly. Only a handful of third-grade students would put their hands up.

By the time the students reached the sixth grade, no one would identify themselves as an artist because they no longer saw themselves as creative.

We want children to hang on to their dreams, and that doesn’t always happen. If we want more creative people, we need to start with encouraging children’s creativity. Regardless of career choice, if children are validated for their creations, they will continue to have new ideas.

As the kids in your life head back to school, don’t forget that it means a lot to them when you make a fuss over the works of art they bring home. After all, these kids sharing their creativity with you.

If you have a flourishing artist in your family, be sure to share pictures of their work with me by emailing me at Debra@DebraSchwartz.com.