Short Sales - FYI

Just a few things to remember when you think of buying a short sale house...

The agent or seller usually sets the price, not the bank, however, the bank decides whether or not it is an acceptable offer.  The fact that the bank is price unaware leads to the long process.  As the buyer, patience is key.

A home load with one bank is better than a home with loans at two banks.  Getting two banks to agree just adds to the process and therefore, dealing with one bank is definitely a more buyer friendly situation.

A lowball offer will get a slow response and possible no response at all.  The bank knows what is left on the loan and if a buyer comes in ridiculously below this amount, the bank frequently scoffs at such an offer giving the buyer little or no feedback.  Always check comparable before making your offer.

"Approved" prices are the quickest.  An "approved short sale" has a price that has already been given the green light by the bank.  For example, shorts sales in nevada, an interested buyer that made an offer to the bank that was approved, but they didn't end up buying the property.  Obviously this is a much quicker sale and is often more desirable.

All in all, a short sale can be to your advantage as long as you have the patience and knowledge to make it work for you.

This is a sponsored post for Schwartz Law Firm, however, all the points and views are my own.

Mario

My Mom drives like Mario Adretti.  Seriously.  When they lived up in Ramona, CA, there was a winding road that she drove every day to get her down to San Diego.  This was no mild winding road.  There were cliffs on one side of the road and jagged rock walls on the other.  There were so many twists and turns that when we came to visit, my children would frequently get sick from her driving this route.  And as the years went by, she didn't become more careful, she became more adept.

She learned such worrisome skills such as "you never break into a turn" and "you should always accelerate out of a turn".  And her car was no slouch.  She preferred models with Performance Engines, and lots of speed.  My Dad gave her one of those things that beeps when police are around.  Really?  And when she started to time herself, I had to put my foot down.  It's not like she's getting any younger and I was sure that I was going to get a call one day that this crazy gray haired woman going 90 flew off the cliff on her way home to Ramona.

My grandchildren call me Baba.  They call my Dad, The Colonel.  The call my Mom, Nana, but I swear we should all be calling her Mario.

This is a sponsored post for JEGS Automotive, however, all the points and views are my own.

Technology Too Advanced?

Perhaps technology can go too far.  At my work, we occasionally accept checks.  I know that for the most part, people don't even use checks, but when they do, it is shocking at what type of checks you see.

With the printing and computer graphics advancements, comes incredibly real looking checks.  You can print up check after check right from your own home.  The check system that most businesses send a check through only verifies that the account is in good standing, or has no overdrawn amounts.  So, in other words, a check with a fraudulent check number, will still come through the system just fine.  The account doesn't exist, so it doesn't have any overdrawn signals to flag the system.  There is a company called Safety Checks who help you build up a defense system against this type of fraud.

We had a guy who came in with a book of checks like they were his business checks.  He also had a personal check book.  And he had his wife's check book.  Yep.  All were fake accounts.  This guy was making up account numbers all over the place.  He made a good living on money that didn't exist.  Crazy.  He was incredibly creative and had just the most beautiful looking checks.  If he would have only applied is graphic design skills to something worthwhile and good, I'm sure he could have made a good living and never felt the need to use fake money.

Technology.  We're too good for our own good.

This is a sponsored post for Safe Checks, however, all the points and views are my own.

Always In A Hurry

My youngest daughter is always in a hurry.  This is not a bad thing, in that, she is involved with good and worthwhile activities.  She has wonderful friends.  And she is kind and helpful.  The only time any of this comes into question is when she is behind the wheel of her car.

She is rushing to go to rehearsal for any number of plays she is in.  She is rushing to meet friends for one thing or another.  She is thoughtful in giving kids a ride either to or from school, but again this puts her in a rush.  And the problem with rushing is the dents, dings, and fender benders.

I am grateful she has never had a serious accident.  In fact, I regret having written that down.  Knock on wood.  It is the hurrying out of the garage and hitting a car parked in the street directly opposite of our driveway.  This has happened on more than one occasion.  The mailbox is also at the end of the driveway and has suffered because of it.  There are posts in parking garages in Salt Lake.  There are enough dents in her car for work to be done from here to auto body repair in Columbus Ohio.

I'm afraid she might be in a hurry to get it fixed though.

This is a sponsored post for Combs Collision, however, all the points and views are my own.

A Home

With the selling of my home coming all too soon, I find myself looking at homes and their interiors all the time.  Whether or not I am driving down the street and checking out the beautiful yards, the window treatments, or front door decorations, I'm taking it all in for when I move to my new place.  Websites like thepartnerstrust have picture after picture of homes to admire and gain all kinds of ideas from.  Magazines have occupied me for hours with the endless storage, organization, and efficiency ideas.

I have looked at kitchen islands so much, that I have come to the conclusion that this will be the one piece that I have custom made.  I have looked at so many and have gleaned creativity from so many, that I have decided to combine the very best components of all.

Our family is centered around the kitchen.  This comes as no surprise to those of you who know me and know my love for baking.  The kitchen island will be the hub of all activity.  I'm even including a bench that my grandchildren can sit at and help me cut out and decorate cookies.

My home will be just that.... a home.  Warm.  Loving.  And full of my grandchildren.

This is a sponsored post for The Partners Trust, however, all the points and views are my own.

The Fountain By The Gift Shop!

I was recently reminded of the time my kids walked into a hospital which had a lovely fountain in front.  And just to the right of the fountain was the gift shop.  The fountain had money in it, and the shop had candy.  My kids immediately thought... "what a fabulous arrangement!"  I watched the flabbergast faces of people observing my kids diving for coins in hopes of gathering enough change to quickly make a dash to the gift shop!  I think we can apply this same principle to the internet.

I think there is an unlimited amount of income to be had via internet sales.  The websites are endless.  The options of what you can purchase are endless.  And all this means, the possibilities of selling something via the internet are endless.

To make selling even easier... you can use a billing system like chargify.  This company acts as an intermediary between the website your selling from and the payment gateway.  You can create subscription plans.  With a billing system each transaction will be for the correct amount and properly processed with your payment gateway.

And your billing system would safely store your customer's cardholder data.  You would never need to worry about managing this sensitive billing information.

So I say... sell!  Sell you stuff on the internet... and then... buy!  It seems like the perfect system for the shopaholic.  Earn your shopping money.  It is the perfect plan.  It's a fountain by the gift shop!

This is a sponsored post for Chargify, however, all the points and views are my own.

The Search Is Over

My daughter and I will be going to California in January so there is the need to find a bathing suit.  In Utah, in the winter, this is not an easy task.  To further complicate the matter is that we are searching for a modest swim suit.

Modest and swim suit are rarely used in the same sentence.  Trust me, when I say, they are few and far between.  I have five daughters, and it seems we are on the constant hunt for modest swimwear.  Honestly, the swim wear on the market today absolutely could not be used for swimming!  I am certain, that private parts meant to remain private would become a swim wear malfunction.

And the other qualification makes it an even harder find.  It must be cute, stylish, and current.  Too often, we find a modest swim suit but it looks as though you are on the swim team.

One day, we came across a gold mine.  Modest, cute, and fun, downeast swimwear is wonderful!  They have tankinis, with bottoms that cover all parts the tankini bottom is supposed to cover.  There are one piece swimsuits that look more like you should be sunbathing in Hawaii rather than diving from a spring board.

Ruffles.  Colors.  Patterns.  And all at a reasonable price.  The search is over.

This is a sponsored post for Downeast, however, all the points and views are my own.