Lesley Lambert

Being in over your head financially is a huge burden.  The stress of knowing that you can’t make ends meet can take a toll on your body and mind.  Many people are facing mortgage debt that is greater than what their house is currently worth and they think because of this situation they are forced to lose their home, thereby damaging their credit and self esteem. 

The message that needs to be brought to these people is that there are OPTIONS.  You are not in this situation alone,  there are thousands of people facing this decision who are just like you.  Because of the encompassing nature of this problem, the lenders are trying to work with the homeowners to find alternatives to foreclosure. I am working with sellers in Westfield, MA and the surrounding areas to help them through this difficult time. 

 

What are the Options For Homeowners Facing Foreclosure?

 

1.  Try to “make nice” with your lender. You can call your  lender and ask them to reinstate the loan. You may be allowed to reinstate or make the loan current by paying a lump sum or making scheduled payments to your lender over a given amount of time. Just explain to them you had a few bad months and things are now better and most lenders will try to work something out with you.

 

2. IF you have equity, refinance. Usually the lender would refinance the existing loan and include as part of the new loan any late payments, and fees that you would need to regain control. It would all be “wrapped” into one mortgage.

 

3. Assuming you have no equity and have to sell, you can list your home with a Realtor who has been trained how to do short sales. Almost always your best option.

 

4. You can give the property back to the lender. If there are no other liens on the title, the lender may agree to take the property back. This process of transferring ownership from you to the lender under these circumstances is called a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, and is sometimes referred to as a “friendly foreclosure” because in essence that what it is. You just walk away.  You must discuss this with your lender.

 

5. You can file bankruptcy. First, you need to seek the advice of a attorney. In no way are we trying to provide legal advice. Only an attorney can give legal advice. The two most common  “chapters” of bankruptcy are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.

Bankruptcies are “work out” others are “wipe out”. Chapter 7 is the “wipe out” and Chapter 13 is the “work out”. Bankruptcy is a federal court action designed to help individuals repay their debts or eliminate their debts depending on their circumstances. Chapter 13 bankruptcies are designed to reorganize debts in an effort to repay all debt. Chapter 7 bankruptcies are geared more towards liquidation of assets. Both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 immediately stop the foreclosure process and any creditors from taking further action against you.

 

To read the rest of my E-book, “Should I Short Sale My Home?”, please visit my website.

 

If you are in this situation and need help, please do not hesitate to call.  I am experienced in short sales and have a team of professionals in place to get you through this difficult time.

Contact Lesley Lambert, The Real Estate Natural at Park Square Realty, Westfield, MA at 413-575-3611 for a FREE consultation.

It is exciting to announce that Park Square Realty, Westfield, MA is once again the top office!  We consistently beat out other “big” offices with up to four times as many agents as we have.  How do we do it?  Hard work, professionalism, dedication to our client’s goals and more hard work!  

I am proud to be a part of the success of Park Square Realty and pleased to share these statistics with you. 

Need to buy or sell real estate in the Westfield, MA area?  Be sure to contact:

Lesley Lambert, The Real Estate Natural at Park Square Realty.  413-575-3611  therealestatenatural@yahoo.com

 

Park Square Westfield Office was #1 for sales volume and transactions in the Westfield Area.

Park Square Feeding Hills Office was #1 for sales volume and transactions in the Agawam & Feeding Hills Area.

Park Square Realty (Company) was #1 for sales volume and transactions in the combined Agawam/Feeding Hills and Westfield areas.

And once again, Park Square Realty Company was the #1 Company for listings sold in the combined West Springfield, Agawam/Feeding Hills, Southwick and Westfield Quadrant.

An impressive point: In all of the above categories, the #2, #3 and #4 Companies 
all have more offices and agents than Park Square Realty.

At Park Square Realty, our vision has always been “quality over quantity“.

Report Run: 1/7/2009 1:23:33 PM Property Type(s): SF, CC, MF, LD, CI, BU  Start Date: 01/01/08 End Date: 12/31/08 Towns: Westfield
Company Listed & Sold Units $ Vol Listed/Not Sold Units $ Vol Sold/Not Listed Units $ Vol Total Units $ Vol Sides %/ Vol   1 Park Square Realty Westfield, MA 01085 27 12,277,828 51 12,199,329 35 7,373,750 113 31,850,907 140 19.85 2 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Waltham, MA 02451 20 10,489,200 40 8,776,800 33 8,305,505 93 27,571,505 113 17.19 3 Keller Williams Realty Longmeadow, MA 01106 17 7,420,482 43 10,250,200 37 8,407,996 97 26,078,678 114 16.26 4 Century 21 A-1 Nolan Realty West Springfield, MA 01089 4 803,300 16 3,421,150 25 4,747,600 45 8,972,050 49 5.59 5 Witalisz & Associates Westfield, MA 01085 7 2,835,800 10 2,443,900 14 2,957,600 31 8,237,300 38 5.13 6 Scarfo Real Estate, Inc. Westfield, MA 01085 3 1,127,000 11 2,397,276 2 555,000 16 4,079,276 19 2.54 7 First Choice Real Estate Westfield, MA 01085 3 321,450 8 1,437,650 12 2,128,800 23 3,887,900 26 2.42 8 Canon Real Estate, Inc. Easthampton, MA 01027 4 2,072,600 11 1,644,500 – – 15 3,717,100 19 2.32 9 William Raveis R.E. & Home Services Shelton, CT 06484 1 498,000 7 1,395,000 6 1,450,300 14 3,343,300 15 2.08 10 Beltrandi & Company Westfield, MA 01085 2 376,000 4 1,062,500 8 1,780,000 14 3,218,500 16 2.01

 

 

Source of Information:  MLS-Property Information Network  1/1/08 – 12/31/08

 

We have just recovered from several severe winter storms here in Western Massachusetts and everyone has been cooped up a bit more than usual.  With the holidays past, it is easy to start to get the doldrums. 

 

Are you ready to shake those winter blues and do something fun?  Here are some great destinations close to home that I am sure you will enjoy!

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art: Located in Amherst, MA this treasure trove of Picture Book Art is fun for all ages! Click the logo to go to their website:

The Holyoke Merry-Go-Round in Holyoke, MA is historical fun for everyone! This is a super affordable option with tickets only $1 per ride!  Click the logo to go to their website:

The Amelia Park Children’s Museum in Westfield is newly constructed and contains hours of fun for the family!  Click the logo to go to their website:

Speaking of Amelia Park in Westfield…this amazing area is also home to the Ice Arena.  If you aren’t sick of the cold weather, you can find lots of fun here!

One of my personal favorite winter-time destinations is Magic Wings Butterfly conservatory in Deerfield, MA.  It is warm and lush and full of gorgeous butterflies on even the coldest winter day!

 While you are in the Deerfield area be sure to visit the Yankee Candle Home Store.  There is sooo much more than candles here!

If these don’t cure some winter blahs, then you aren’t trying hard enough!  Now get out there and enjoy New England and when you need to make a real estate decision be sure to call:

Lesley Lambert, The Real Estate Natural at Park Square Realty

Ok, so you caught me, this post has absolutely nothing to do with real estate (other than it is a realtor who is posting it :p )!  However, I was chatting with some tweeps on twitter today and mentioned that I was making risotto for dinner.  I had shown houses all day long in the cold Western Massachusetts winter weather and was ready for a hearty and warm meal.   A fellow realtor @kathy_jackson asked for the recipe and it got me to thinking that I don’t HAVE a recipe.

I told her I would try to write it out for her and so here it goes!  Now for those of you who have never had risotto, it is the most lovely of winter side dishes (or main dish sometimes) and is creamy, savory and delicious!  You can flavor it a million different ways and once you get the hang of the basic recipe it is a lot of fun to experiment with the flavors. 

This traditional Italian rice dish is a terrific clean out the fridge item as you can adapt the ingredients easily once the base is created.  My risotto is not traditional (but it is yummy!), for traditional recipes I can recommend www.allrecipes.com.

Base ingredients:

Aborio Rice

Brown Rice

Wild Rice

Chicken broth

Lemon juice

White wine

Onion

 

My favorite additions:

Roasted garlic

Goat or Feta Cheese

 

#1-Melt a half a stick of butter and a small amount of olive oil in a pot.  Add onion and saute until tender.  Add 1cup Aborio rice, 1 cup brown rice and 1/2 cup wild rice and saute until rice is browned.

#2- Add 1 cup white wine and 1/3 cup lemon juice (juice is optional).  This will cause the pot to smoke up a bit.  Allow liquid to absorb.

#3- Add 1 cup pre-warmed broth.  Allow to absorb and continue to add until the rice if fluffy and creamy.  Can take anywhere from 3-4 cups broth.

#4- Allow risotto to set for 5 minutes.

#5- Add optional ingredients.  The combo I made tonight: 1/2 cup feta cheese, chopped black olives, quartered artichoke hearts, roast garlic.  Another favorite: roasted garlic (can you tell I love it?), goat cheese and steamed broccoli.  I have also made it with sweet potato and parmesan. bacon and sweet onions…the options are endless!

Now go forth and create!