Another Short Sale goes back to the bank...

I’ll start with a little bit of history.  I met this home owner as a result of the bank filing a Notice of Election and Demand, the first step of the foreclosure process.  This client had lost their job, their spouse (widower), and most recently a parent.  Unable to make the payment, the bank began foreclosure proceedings.

 As a listing agent, I put the property on the market in an attempt to complete a short sale.  This is NOT the easy out for a person in foreclosure – the house has to be prepared for showings, allow agents and their buyers to come through your home, prepare and disclose your finances and deal with the emotions related to another loss.  It is not an easy process…  and the result is the knowledge that you did your best to do the right thing.  That’s it – you don’t receive a financial reward, just the vague promise of a less damaged credit report.

 After 45 days of marketing the property, 27 showings and 4 price reductions, the bank has decided to complete the foreclosure process.  The mortgage holder is going to complete the foreclosure on this South Aurora home with the thought of renting the home.  

 What a frustrating, waste of time for all involved.  From the time that I began listing this home, I have been in weekly communication with the bank’s representatives.  It was not until an offer was submitted that they decided to tell me that they were not interested in completing a short sale.  Instead, they wasted my time, my client’s time, the time of all the showing agents and their clients (27 different groups), the time of my title company representative.  And still, the banks wonder why people are mad at them…

Miller Moths

It looks like another Miller moth season is upon us.  It’s funny how a small, non-destructive insect can cause so much consternation.  At our house (we recently moved to Saddle Rock North), nobody sleeps until the bedroom has been cleared of these guys.  With vaulted ceilings, this can be a bit of a challenge – thank goodness for the extension hose on the vacuum cleaner.  We have also set up a soap water bucket trap in the basement.  Nature is not going to beat us this year.  Thanks to Google, I now have a new respect for this critter.  They migrate from the plains to the mountains in the spring.  They hang out in the mountains all summer, returning to the plains to lay their eggs in the fall.  The eggs hatch and an Army Cutworm is born, spending the caterpillar phase munching alfalfa and winter wheat crops.  In this phase they are a major pest.

Sure, the Miller moth is unimpressive when compared to the Monarch butterfly when it comes to migrations.  But still, it’s only a an inch or two long and it completes 2 migrations of up to 100 miles during a 4-5 month adult life.  That seems like quite a feat – dodging vacuum cleaners, soapy water traps, and a variety of other predators every step of the way…  Makes my day seem uneventfully safe…