Being the cheerleader...

I live with a cheerleader and I work for a cheerleader. Both my wife and my manager at Real Estate One are naturally upbeat people, who are constantly trying to get everyone around them to be upbeat, too. Sometimes that can be annoying, but for he most part it's the right thing to do and is working with me (not always, but much more than it used to). I've got to get more positive, not only for my own sanity, but to try to keep my sellers thinking positively, too. That;s not easy in the current market.


Whenever I get a bit down, my manager sees it and she calls me Mr. Grumpy. That normally is enough to break the mood. As I said here a few days ago, I'm a person who enjoys humor and to me I guess that is humorous. We can all use some humor these days.

Today's newspaper headlined the "news" that Michigan had the worse ever April for foreclosures last month and went on to state that May looks to be even worse. The writer quoted some unknown local economist as stating that 10,000 foreclosures in Michigan this year is within reach at the current rate. I'll have to get out my "We're #1" rubber finger picture again. Oh, wait. Is that Mr. Grumpy showing up again? Call out the cheerleaders.

Actually, one could view that as good news, if one is a buyer or working with buyers, which I am. I seem to be showing almost nothing but foreclosed houses lately and most of them are in fairly good shape. It can be a challenge to get an offer through the process, depending on who the bank is that currently owns the house, but it's worth the effort. There are just some super buys on the market right now. Young, first time buyer couples seem to realize that this market represents an extraordinary chance for them to skip right past a starter house and get right into what would have been their first move-up house.

As for sellers, I'm encouraging the good honest people who are trying to make a normal sale that the sale will come, it just may take a while longer and bring in a little less than they had hoped. Most normal sellers have the advantage of being able to present to the market a house that is better maintained than the foreclosure homes. For people looking for a place that they can just move right into, without a bunch of work, the normal houses on the market are the way to go.


So there you have it. I've progressed from Mr. Grumpy to Mr Happy, all because I live with Pollyanna and work for little Mary Sunshine. Thanks, ladies!