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Are you stressed out about mortgage payments? Do you think your only option is a foreclosure? Is a short sale right for you? Millions and millions of homeowners are asking themselves the same questions. It is projected that over 20,000,000 homeowners will have negative equity in their homes in the very near future. In other words, they will owe more on their homes than they are worth. Over 2.9 million homes have foreclosed in the last three years and the number is only expected to grow. Expect the effects of the estate recession to ripple for years to come.

 What can you do now?

 There is expected to be massive tsunami of homeowners who are simply making the decision to sell their homes through a short sale vs. staying in a home, hoping that one day it may be worth what they paid.

 No one is safe. News stories from across the country tell the tales of both celebrities and  average Americans who are all considering selling their homes through a short sale.

Selling your home through a short sale doesn’t need to be a shameful, life-ruining experience. Sometimes short selling your mortgage simply makes smart economic sense, especially for homeowners who find themselves “upside down” – that is, they owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth.

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A short sale is when a lender accepts a discount on a mortgage to avoid a possible foreclosure auction or bankruptcy. For example: A homeowner, who is facing foreclosure, has an existing first mortgage of $500,000. The market value of the home is $350,000.

Long story short, the lender accepts the offer for $350,000 and the home is sold.

 That’s a short sale.

 Why are lenders so eager to take such a huge discount?  Banks do not like bad loans. If they see an opportunity where they can sell the property without the huge loss of a foreclosure, they will do it. Some lenders report that if the home goes into foreclosure by the time the home actually closes with the new buyer, the lender will be lucky to net 50% of the original loan balance.

 Bottom line from the lenders perspective?  They are in the business of lending money, not owning homes. If they can accept a short sale offer and rid themselves of the bad loan AND net more, vs the home going into foreclosure,  they will do it every time. It’s simply smart business.

 Time is not on your side when you are considering a short sale. You must act quickly and work only with a real estate expert who has successfully completed and graduated from advanced real estate education programs like HREU.

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For more information please visit my website where you can read the entire web book “Should I Short Sale My Home”.  It is full of information about foreclosure and short sales and will  help you to understand how and why short sales work for many people.  Park Square Realty has helped many families just like you all over Western Massachusetts to deal with this situation. 

I am trained and experienced in helping people sell their home when they are in danger of foreclosure.  I have a network that includes attorneys who understand the process and will help you to get through this difficult time.  You are not alone and I am here to help.

For Help Contact:   Lesley Lambert, The Real Estate Natural at Park Square Realty

413-575-3611     therealestatenatural@yahoo.com    www.therealestatenatural.com

 

I sat down and watched my all time favorite classic Christmas movie: Santa Claus is Coming to Town with my daughters the other night.  While enjoyable for all the normal reasons, I was reminded of a very important lesson while enjoying a song.  Here are the lyrics to the song:

“Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking out the door

You never will get where you’re going
If you never get up on your feet
Come on, there’s a good tail wind blowing
A fast walking man is hard to beat

Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking out the door

If you want to change your direction
If your time of life is at hand
Well don’t be the rule be the exception
A good way to start is to stand

Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking out the door

If I want to change the reflection
I see in the mirror each morn
You mean that it’s just my election
To vote for a chance to be reborn”

Sing it with me!

It occurs to me that many of us in the real estate industry need to sing this as our mantra this year.  It has been a difficult year for many people, but sinking into that negativity is a huge mistake.  Often times just the impact of movement creates a forward momentum that can push you through a rough patch.  The lesson of self motivation and positive growth is one that I try to bring into my day all year long, but this song does a fabulous job of keeping it close at hand.   For myself, I am going to continue to vote for my chance to be reborn and start each day with a positive step towards my goals.  I hope you will, too!

For a real estate agent with a positive attitude and a go-getter approach hire Lesley Lambert, The Real Estate Natural at Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA!

Confession time.  I have been a REALTOR for 20 years in Westfield, MA.  I have a background in training and management and ran a real estate company for over a decade.  I was the recipient of awards from an international real estate franchise and did motivational speaking and training for them for several years.  I hosted a real estate television show.  I was fearless…until it came to knocking on doors.

Latent fears are strange and usually make no sense.  I can recall making my younger sister do the door knocking when we were selling girl scout cookies.  I have never been able to comprehend what I was afraid of, just acknowledged that the mere thought of knocking on a strangers door made me slightly ill.

Worse than the fear was the knowledge that I was being a hypocrite.  I would stand in front of hundreds of real estate agents and tell them that they needed to face their fears and pick up the phone or knock on a door.  Man, is it so much easier to tell other people what to do!

So, here I am after re-inventing my real estate career and re-starting as an agent at Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA.  I know all the things that I have to do to stay successful and I push myself regularly.  I take aggressive training courses that keep me accountable.  I create the web presence and work on becoming tech savvy for my career.  I stay in touch with my sphere.  I make appointments with for sale by owners and I mail to expired listings.  Some of it works, but I am still not creating the kind of business that I want.  My managers hold some brainstorming sessions and they tell us the impossible:  go knock on doors, be the one that people meet face to face.

Hoo boy. 

I acknowledge their advice.  They are trying to push us into new patterns of behavior in this new market.  I take a deep breath and commit in this meeting that I will try to knock on doors.  That is a wimpy cop out committment, but it was the best I could do with the nausea creeping up.

Meanwhile, back at the real estate office (sorry, couldn’t resist) I am becoming affiliated with a home retention company called Titanium Inc.   and am very excited about the potential to help people who have fallen into hard times with their loans.  This is a subject that I am personally connected with and I am ready to be part of a positive change for these people.  I complete the training, get my first assignments and then realize that I have to go KNOCK ON THESE PEOPLE’S DOORS.

Well, I am afraid, but I said I would help these people and I will.  My first stop is a woman who ends up hugging me and crying and we make an appointment to meet the following week.  Not bad, I am ready to try some more at this point.  My second stop slams the door in my face.  Even that wasn’t horrible…I realize he isn’t upset with me, just the situation.  As I am leaving he comes back out, apologizes and invites me in to talk.  Wow…this isn’t nearly as difficult as I expected.  In fact, this is great….these people need my help and I can give it!

The following week I create some expired listing information folders and head out to visit some broker’s open houses in Westfield, MA.  There are four expired listings near the open house and I am knocking on all of them.  One lovely older couple is home and they invite me in to chat. 

The next week I am driving past a for sale by owner in Westfield, MA and I happen to still have some of my information packets in the car.  I decide to stop and while the homeowner did look at me like I had five heads, he was pleasant and I dind’t take up much time…just a low key “here is some information about what our company does, please let me know if you need some help”.

So, I am cured.  No more fear of knocking on doors and I am ready to take on 2009 in a pro-active face to face way.  So, if I knock on your door: rest assured I am there to help you in whatever way I can… and be gentle with me, I used to be afraid of you, too!

If you would like to invite me to knock on your door then get in touch with Lesley Lambert!

When choosing a real estate agent in Westfield, MA  to sell your home there are many factors to consider, not the least of which should be the power of the company behind that agent.  One of the reasons I work with Park Square Realty is because of the high level of standards and quality in the agents here.  We focus on getting our listings sold and we are succeeding!

In a recent company email we were given the following exciting stats:

1. Park Square Realty is by far the smallest company (# of agents) out of the top 5 in both categories below..

2. Park Square Realty is also the only locally owned (non-franchise) company out of the top 5 in both categories.

Seems like the “quality vs quantity” plan is truly working

   Listings Sold (West Springfield, Agawam/Feeding Hills, Southwick &Westfield Combined)  

 #1. Park Square Realty………………………….141 #2. Keller Williams Realty…………………….. 129 #3. Coldwell Banker……………………………..116 #4. Century 21 Nolan……………………………. 71 #5. Carlson GMAC……………………………….. 38

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Market Share – All Firms
Report Run: 12/1/2008 7:00:40 PM                                                                                          Property Type(s): SF, CC, MF, LD, CI, BU, RN, MH Start Date: 01/01/08 End Date: 12/01/08 Towns: Agawam, 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 37 17,193,228 72 16,826,229 41 8,605,250 150 42,624,707  187  16.57 2 Coldwell Banker  Waltham, MA 02451 26 12,431,200 61 13,084,825 56 13,984,305 143 39,500,330  169  15.35 3 Keller Williams Realty Longmeadow, MA 01106 21 8,532,226 65 15,241,100 59 13,089,196 145 36,862,522  166  14.33 4 Century 21 A-1 Nolan Realty West Springfield, MA 01089 10 2,621,900 38 8,696,450 49 9,557,400 97 20,875,750  107  8.11 5 Carlson GMAC Real Estate Beverly, MA 01915 10 3,712,800 19 4,203,400 21 4,548,500 50 12,464,700  60  4.85

    Source of information: MLS-PIN

If you are ready to make a move, call Lesley Lambert, The Real Estate Natural at Park Square Realty.

 

 

As I meet with clients these days the #1 question is “What about all the news about the plummeting home values?”  It is with pleasure and certainty that I am able to reassure people with real estate in Westfield, MA that the news isn’t as bad for us as it is for people in other areas of the country.

Here are the stats:

Westfield, MA Average Sales Price in 2008 = $225,560

Westfield, MA Average Sales Price in 2005 = $241,015

Percentage of downward change from 2005 to 2008 = 6.4%

That’s right…while other areas in our country are suffering with up to 50% drop in value, we are experiencing a much milder adjustment in Westfield, MA. 

So, if you were thinking about making a move and were unsure as to what has happened to your property value, this is some reassurance.  As a real estate agent with Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA, I would be happy to meet with you to discover the specific value for your property.  Contact me today for a free consultation!