Rest assured, we'll revisit it again and again. It's far from over. Here was the original post from way back in May Saturday in my local paper, (the Contra Costa Times), real estate writer Barbara Hernandez wrote a simple little recap of the foreclosure activity here in the East Bay.
Do the Neighbors know?
We have a problem and I'm not talking about Foreclosures. We have a disconnect. While the article was well written, and I certainly read every word, I am also very different from the general public. In talking to a neighbor on Sunday, he had seen the article but to him it was just a bunch of numbers so he skimmed over it. He's a chemical engineer by trade.
The general public is the embodiment of "Short Attention Span Theater". They live by Sound Bites and Headlines. My neighbor stated that its was good that we we not Stockton. He obviously knew that Stockton was labeled the Foreclosure Capital of the U.S. by the media.
I don't have to worry about that...
He has a 30 yr fixed loan. He has a stable job. He has nothing to worry about, he said. Then I started asking him questions. I know he's planning on moving to the sierra foothills in a year when he retires. He's planning on selling his home.
I pointed to a home I knew was recently served a Notice of Default. I explained what used to happen not so very long ago. They would have sold or refinanced. That was so 2006! Nowadays, they can't refinance. Can they sell? How long will it take? What price? Will it be a short sale? If it sells or forecloses it will effect his home and all the others around it. One demise leads to more demise, which leads to even more demise. It's an enzyme, a catalyst. Their demise is your demise. We're all linked together. We're all related.
To a chemical engineer this makes more sense than a page of numbers. He now has a very different picture.
"Why doesn't anyone know this? Why aren't we being told?", almost adamantly.
John, I'm doing the best I can. Back in November, I mentioned the coming Foreclosure Crunch. I can't find the complete video of the program but here's a snippet.
will hurt us all.
The problem is still there, it's not going to go away.
I've been speaking about it. Barbara Hernandez certainly made no bones about it.
We know it, and we've been telling you about it for a while now. Just maybe not in the right way.
My question is how do we best get the message to the ones that need to hear it the most?
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It is really too bad that the media is mis informing the general public. Thanks for helping to keep our eye on the ball.
Lisa - That's just plain SAD. It is true with some - but not all. I like it when the producer calls and says, "What do you think about ________". Then we discuss it and I am allowed to make my point as to why he needs to hear my side. That said, I also have been contacted in much the same way you were.
Larry - I don't think they are misleading,or not at least on purpose. Whatever media it is they have one purpose. To sell. They sell newspapers or they advertising. But they sell. If Sound Bites and Headlines sell, then that's what they are going to do. They can cover the meat, they can tell the truth, and they will but their primary function in business is to sell.
Hi Maggie! Love the new updated picture by the way. I'm not so sure he was doing the ostrich. I think he was much more gathering the information by scan mode. I thin all information can be found in one of two ways, push or pull. Most of the stuff that hits my grey matter is pushed on me, (ask me about Ambien CR). I choose to PULL the mortgage and RE stuff. For him, he's getting the info via PUSH.
We are all going to be affected by this problem.. some certainly more then others. If you are in a market with lots of foreclosures then you will have to deal with huge declines in prices as banks move to get rid of property.
If you are in a high price area with not many foreclosures there will still be the problem of qualifying and finding money for the jumbo loan market..