Unwinding Dreams...

Last week's Business Week magazine had a story titled "Enter the Liquidators: We Unwind Dreams". The story was basically about the people who specialize in liquidating the assets of failed companies, specifically this story focused upon a company that liquidates the IT start-up companies of Silicon Valley. The main character highlighted in the story was Martin Pichinson, know to friends as Dr Death and among clients as Marty the Liquidator. His company, Sherwood Partners, is currently doing 12 liquidations a month, as the economy turns sour.

The story got me thinking about our industry’s liquidators – the agents and companies that specialize in short sales and foreclosures. These are our industry’s “vultures”. They feed on the dead dreams of distressed home owners or feast on the carcasses of abandoned and foreclosed homes. And yet, as disgusting as the circumstances may be surrounding what they see as opportunities; they, like nature’s vultures, provide a valuable service. They help get rid of the rotting hulks that are left behind with the shattered dreams of ex-home owners.

In the Business Week story there were customer testimonials about Larry the Liquidator and how clam he is in the midst of an otherwise tumultuous time for the companies being liquidated. Hopefully I can bring some of that same understanding and calm advice and counsel in my efforts to help people through the short sale process. That was certainly one of my goals in starting up the web site MIShortSales.net. The site is oriented to provide as much information about the process as possible and to set a re-assuring tone about the process. But the site is also honest, because it states right up front that going to a short sale still means that you are losing the house.

It’s not a lot of fun working with people who are in the personal situation where a short sale is the only answer left. But, at that point, it’s not about fun; it’s about trying to help that person do what’s right now, so that they can get back on their feet and get back into a home as soon as they are able. I don’t ever want to be known as Norm the Liquidator or the Dr Death of Real Estate. I’d rather that someone be able to look back at a bad time in their lives and say honestly that they are glad I was there to help them get through it. As I said in yesterday’s post; sometimes that’s all we can do – survive and persevere I may have to unwind a few dreams today; but, I hope that I do it in such a way that I can help make new dreams come true for those same people, down the road.