Reach out, I’ll be there…

July 23, 2012

I started my day with this little gem from my favorite blog, Jack’s Winning  Words – “When you reach out, the chances are pretty good that someone will reach back.” (Cheryl Richardson)

Jack went on to site a memory from the old Lucile Ball show I Love Lucy were Lucy and Ethel sang the song Friendship to each other, with the line from the song, “ If you’re ever in a jam, here I am.”

As I thought about it, it occurred to me that men seem to have much more of a problem reaching out in times of need than women. I guess it’s a macho guy thing to “suck it up” and hold things in, rather than reaching out for help. Of cours,e some women keep things in too.

The image that flashed through my mind was from one of those TV commercials about depression – people sitting alone in a depressed state of mind.  There may be drugs to help with that, but I suspect that being able to reach out and having someone reach back to you would do as much good as many of those drugs.

I also thought about how often we may miss opportunities to reach back to others.  How often do we walk around someone who is obviously hurting to avoid getting sucked into their despair?  Do we sometimes avoid making eye contact with someone who is desperately seeking someone to talk to, because we have other things to do? I also wonder sometimes how many lonely old people sit staring out the window of their assisted living rooms wishing that someone would stop in for a chat.

I’ve also noticed, as I get older and a tiny bit wiser, that those who do respond; those who make the effort to reach back, seem to be as rewarded for the experience as those who were reaching out. There is a reward here on earth, as well as in heaven, I suspect, for caring enough to reach back to someone who needs help.

So keep an eye out today and every day for those whose glance in your direction is really a cry for help. For many it is hard to verbalize the request for help, but you can see it in body language and in the eyes. See if you can turn a tear into a twinkle in someone’s eyes today.

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Posted by Norm Werner

The lost pastime of porch sitting

July 21, 2012

This article originally was written for my July-August Newsletter, which I print and send out to abourt 350 past customers and people whom I’ve met one way or another in my real estate career. Although lots of people like to read blogs on-line many of my Newsletter readers tell me they prefer to have a paper newsletter that they can put on the nightstand and read a little at a time.

We are fortunate to live in a house with porches. I have a big, wrap-around porch on the front of the house and a smaller “sun porch” on the back side. My historic home was built in 1885, but the porches were likely added later. There was a time when sitting out on your front porch and watching people go by was considered a nice pastime, especially on lazy summer afternoons.

We’ve sort of lost touch with that pastime as a society, it seems. Perhaps the pace of our lives has become such that we don’t feel that we have time for such an indulgence; but I suspect that air conditioning is mainly to blame. People move inside, close up the house and turn on the air when it gets too warm. I’ll admit that I do, too.  Porches sort of fell out of favor as a design feature sometime in the 60’s.

On those days in the Spring and Fall (and on occasion in the summer) when it’s not too hot, it’s still great to be able to go out to the front porch (which is screened-in to keep the bugs away) and just sit there and read or watch the world go by. I’ll admit also that I installed an overhead fan on my porch, so I can create a breeze when none exists.

Our porch is big enough to entertain on, with room for both of our children and all of the grandchildren when they come to visit. We have to drag a few chairs out for those occasions, but  everybody has a place to sit and the grandkids still have lots of room to play. There’s even an old fashion porch swing.

On the south side of the front porch we’ve put a nice little table where the grandkids can sit and color or maybe have a snack. In the corner by the front door is our little menagerie—two giraffes, a camel, a hippo and an elephant. The grandkids love those, too.

So, if you happen to be strolling by my house and see me out there, wave and say hi. I might even invite you up to “sit a spell”; maybe even have a beer; just don’t feed the animals.

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Posted by Norm Werner

There’s still time to volunteer for Milford Memories

July 19, 2012

My wife and I signed up as volunteers for the Milford Memories Festival yesterday. We’ll be doing duty on Sunday morning, August 12. There are still slots open for more volunteers on all three days – Aug 10 thru 12. An event like Milford Memories couldn’t be pulled off every year with a legion of volunteers. Just like a major golf tournament, such as the USGA Senior Open out in Orion, had hundreds of volunteers for crowd control and other tasks, the Milford Memories Festival  uses hundreds of volunteers over the three days for things ranging from street patrol to insure that restricted parking areas are honored, to emptying the many waste containers that are placed around the festival grounds to shuttling people around the grounds.

Last year my wife and I manned one of the Information Booths on behalf of the Milford Historical Society. We answered questions from festival goers and sold a few of the Historical Society books about Milford’s history. This year the Historical Society will have tents set up on the Museum lawn – one to sell those same books and other items that the Society offers and the other will house a display of the local Native American artifacts that one of our members, Bill Schimmel, had collected. Bill passed away this year while working on a book about Chief Tipsico, a local tribal chief for which Tipsico Lake was named. There will also be a Granny’s Garage Sale going on at the Museum during the festival. We hope to have the Museum open during the festival, if we can get enough volunteers to be docents for all three days.

There are still many volunteer slots to be filled, so stop by the Chamber of Commerce office and pick up a Volunteer form (or click here to download it) and choose what you’d like to do to help. As a volunteer you’ll get a spiffy T-shirt to wear (and keep) that identifies you as festival volunteer staff, but more importantly you’ll get the satisfaction of being an inside part of Milford’s premier annual event. It’s sort of our little microcosm of events like the Olympics or the Super Bowl. The festival attracts 10’s of thousands of visitors over the three days and you could be an important part of the impression that Milford makes on all of those visitors. Make a difference- Volunteer!

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Posted by Norm Werner

Not too fast, not too slow…just RIGHT!

July 18, 2012

“Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.” (Wyatt Earp) – from the blog Jack’s Winning Words. Go there to find out who said this first in the 4th Century BC.

If Wyatt Earp had been a Realtor those words would have served him well, too. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the “Time is of the essence” nature of real estate that we lose focus on the need for accuracy. There is another saying that applies from the traffic enforcement people – “Speed kills” – that may apply to real estate transactions, too.

There is certainly nothing wrong with making sure that things move along at an expeditious pace; however, all too often pushing things along too fast results in something being overlooked or not done properly. Sometimes the things that get messed up because of going too fast can be easily corrected, perhaps an Addendum that wasn’t signed or some other documentation issue. However, sometimes rushing to get a deal closed can result in overlooking something serious that you just didn’t have time to check out properly. Usually that’s something that you assumed someone else was responsible to check and they didn’t. (Making assumptions is a bigger potential problem than excess speed)

These days it’s not unusual to hear complaints about how slow the mortgage approval process has become, even on conventional mortgages; however, there’s a hidden benefit to that slowdown. It has afforded all of us more time to make sure that the rest of the process is done accurately. How many Realtors use that extra time to make sure that things are being done accurately is what separates the really good agents from the rest. It’s not how fast you can make mistakes; it is how few mistakes you make that matters.

So, call me about your real estate needs. I’ll handle things as fast as is accurately possible.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Will short sales be derailed by gridlock in Congress?

July 17, 2012

It is an understatement to say that we have an almost totally dysfunctional Congress right now. The combination of extreme polarization of positions by the two parties and election year political posturing has resulted in almost total gridlock. Both parties share the blame for this mess, as both have moved themselves further and further away from any middle ground and the ability to compromise to get any business done on behalf of the American people. It is debatable whether this state of affairs is representative of the state of the nation or not. Let’s just leave it that it’s a shame and a mess.

One of the biggest issues that this non-functional body has to supposedly decide this year has to do with taxes – whether to extend the various taxes or tax cuts that are due to expire at the end of the year. Rather than any thoughtful discussion of the merits of any of the taxes or cuts involved, the “debate” (if one can call it that) has devolved into campaign sloganeering and name calling. Typical stuff in today’s Washington.

Lost in the calliope of bluster from both sides is the fate of a little Act of Congress that is the cornerstone of the short sale business in real estate – The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. This act, which was extended in 2008 by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, provides protection from taxation on the loss incurred by the bank for home short sales. Basically it protects the home seller from being given a 1099 Statement on the amount that the bank had to forgive in order to let the short sale happen. Prior to this Act, home seller would receive that 1099 and be responsible for paying taxes on that amount, just as if it was ordinary income to them for that year. The so-called “Phantom Income” from the sale was treated the same way as a withdrawal from a non-qualified IRA – as if you had received a bonus at work and now Uncle Sam wants his cut.

Obviously, having to pay taxes on money that you never really received was and is onerous to home owners/seller; so, the expected consequence if this tax law is allowed to expire will be a drastic reduction in short sales. That will undoubtedly have the effect of increasing foreclosures, since a short sale is a last resort before foreclosure for many sellers and that would likely throw the whole real estate market for a backward loop into the doldrums again.

So call or write your Congressman and tell them – “Get off your duffs and get to work for me!” Tell them that we can’t afford to let the real estate market slip back into recession while they fiddle around in TV sound bites doing nothing. There needs to be another extension of The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 before the end of this year. Then they can get back to the mud-slinging and political posturing over what, if any, portion of the so-called “Bush Tax Cuts” to extend and whether or not to completely fail in their elected duties and let the mandated automatic tax cuts of the Budget Control Act occur in January of 2013.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Granny’s Attic Sale a Success…now on to Milford Memories

July 16, 2012

The Granny’s Attic Sale that the Milford Historical Society (MHS) held last Friday and Saturday was a big success. We sold lots of stuff; however, we also had lots of stuff left over and actually had more donations coming in each day. So, we’ve decided to have a Granny’s Garage Sale during the Friday and Saturday of the upcoming Milford Memories Festival. The sale will be on the front lawn of the Milford Historical Museum again. The times will probably be about the same as last weekend 9 am until 4 pm each day; but check in at the Milford Historical Web site – www.milfordhistory.org  – as we get closer to Milford Memories for details and the times of the sale. Proceeds from the sales go to support the mission of the MHS.

The recent Summer Palooza on Main St was a miniature dress rehearsal for the big show – Milford Memories. The Milford Memories Festival, coming up on August 13, 14 &15, is rated one of the best in the country by the vendors themselves, so it brings out the best arts and crafts vendors. It has also become a must attend summer tradition for thousands of Michigan people from surrounding areas. There will be lots of added events and things for the whole family going on during Milford Memories, so plan to spend a whole day in Milford during that weekend. For more on the upcoming  Milford Memories Festival click here.

In the interim there are lots of things going on in Milford and Highland and the surrounding areas. For an up-to-date calendar of events in the area go to www.movetomilford.com and look at the Upcoming Community Events. There is just no excuse to be bored this summer in the Huron Valley.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Don’t miss the Granny’s Attic Sale

July 13, 2012

 

Granny’s Attic

When you come out for the Summer Palooza in downtown Milford today and tomorrow, don’t miss the Granny’s Attic Sale being run on the front lawn of the Milford Historical Museum at 124 E. Commerce Rd, just one block east of Main Street in Milford. The sale is run by Duane Freitag, a local antiques dealer and member of the Milford Historical Society. Duane makes his living doing estate sales and dealing in antiques. During the course of the year he assembles quite an eclectic collection of items from those estates and donates them to the Milford Historical Society for the Granny’s Attic Sale.The sale isn’t like a typical garage sale. There are no clothes or baby clothes, just household items, furniture and antiques and collectibles. For more information on the sale and to see pictures of some of this year’s sale items click here.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Is the time right for you?

July 12, 2012

From the Jack’s Winning Words blog comes this gem – “Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” (Napoleon Hill) Hill was one of the original writers of the value of positive thinking. “Believe it, and you can achieve it.”

If there was ever a saying that we, as Realtors, need to get across to potential sellers it is that one. Too many seem to be frozen by the wait for just the right time. For a long while it was waiting until the value decline stopped. Well, it has stopped in most areas and values are now inching back up. So, now, too many are waiting for the value to come back to where it was. That will be a long wait – at least a decade or more in most areas.

We Realtors tend to think that people aren’t listing because they are underwater on their mortgages. Many would-be seller aren’t underwater at all; they just can’t let go of the “value” that they thought they had at the peak of the market. So my advice is “Let it go.” You need to get real and let go of the mental picture that you are clinging to of the value of the place at the peak of the real estate bubble. Your house has lost 25-40% (depending upon the area) of its peak value. It is what it is today. Right now there are buyers out looking. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines waiting for things to be just right, this is as close as it’s going to get in quite a while. Take to heat the message of Napoleon Hill – “The time will never be just right.”

In fact, the time is as right as it can get, right now in many areas. The foreclosure inventory has been depleted in many market areas, with fewer new foreclosures happening currently. We have flipped over to a seller’s market here in my area, with too many buyers chasing too few listed homes. Multiple offers and offers above asking price are the norm now. Sellers are selling faster and getting market price for their homes right now; they just won’t get 2006 market price. So, if you’ve been delaying your plans to make that retirement move or that move to downsize your life, now is the time to take action. Call your local Realtor and explore the market value of your home with him/her. The time is right to take action.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Take time to dream…

July 11, 2012

From the Jack’s Winning Words blog comes this inspirational piece of advice – “You have to dream before your dreams can come true.” (Abdul Kalam)

How true. Sometimes we let the slog of daily life consume so much time and energy that we forget to dream or lose sight of our original dreams. Whether you call it dreaming or visualizing, you have to have goals in mind that you are working towards. Otherwise another old saying takes over your life – Where ever you go, there you are.”

More often that I care to admit I’ll end a day and realize that I got caught up in the minutia of life and failed to put any effort or time into things that would further reaching my goals or dreams. Sure many of the things that I did needed to be done. There are always things that need to be done; and, if you let them just take over and control your life, you’ll never get around to dreaming or doing those things that need to be done to realize your dream.

There is an interesting story in this week’s Bloomberg Business Week about a single mom with two children struggling to make it in one of the nation’s worst areas of economic blight. It could be a really depressing story, especially since Bloomberg has taken the slant that this is a story about the decline of America; however, the story focuses enough on one aspect of this woman and her daily struggles to make it inspirational.  She has a dream of a better life for herself and her children and nothing that she has to endure on a daily basis is able to shake her off accomplishing that dream.

So give yourself a break today and take some time to dream. Visualize what it is you want or where you want to go in life and then set about planning how to achieve your dream. Working on accomplishing that plan will make every day feel a little better.

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Posted by Norm Werner

The disservice of an entitlement mentality…

July 9, 2012

I always cringe a bit whenever I hear someone start a sentence with “It’s my right…” So many times the person is not really talking about a right, but rather a privilege or maybe even a charitable act; yet a mentality of entitlement has taken over in America and that person now believes somehow that they have a right to that privilege or that charity.

Such mentality, I believe creeps into the day-to-day lives of some in the form claiming some form of right to ignore rules and laws, especially traffic laws. There appear to be people who don’t believe that traffic signs or speed limits apply to them. It’s somehow their right to ignore them.  I encountered such a dunderhead this past weekend at a shopping mall. The mall is repairing and repaving a part of the parking lot and so they had one of the entrances partially blocked off. With barricades and clear signage they had designated the lane that was still open as an entrance only. Big, clearly visible one-way signs pointed in. Yet as I tried to enter there sat the dunderhead (and a couple more idiots behind him} who had chosen to exercise their “right” to use that lane as an exit. And they got mad at me for trying to enter, honking and shaking fists. I could see them mouthing, “I’ve got a right to be here, too.”

I see examples of people completely ignoring stop signs all the time in my neighborhood or parking big, long-bed, crew cab trucks in parking slots that are marked “Compact Cars Only”, thus partially blocking traffic by sticking way out into the roadway. I’m sure that most of these people have evaluated the relatively low probability of ever getting a ticket for their miscreant behavior and that adds to the entitlement mentality that starts out with the thought that whatever the rule or law, it just doesn’t apply to you, because “It’s my right to park here.”

The truth is that you have a few fundamental rights that were granted to all citizens in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, plus a few more that have been codified into law as rights of all citizens. Most of the rest involves privileges that were granted by law or hand-outs that happen because the government or someone has taken pity on those in need. They are not rights and can be taken away at will.

So, the next time you start off a sentence with ‘”I have a right”, stop and think about it. Do you really or have you just decided that you are somehow entitled.  Remember that I have the right to call the Ordinance Enforcement Officer the next time I see your big truck parked in the Compact Cars Only area; and that’s a right that I will exercise.

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Posted by Norm Werner

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