Obama wants to hold off foreclosures for 90 days for those who have loans with lenders who are part of the bail out plan and have lenders basically work with lenders to renegotiate these existing loans and swallow loses that will come out of these renegotiations. It may come down to judges calling the shots on these loans

.

  McCain wants to buy up these bad loans and have lenders provide new less expensive mortgage notes that people can afford to pay and keep them in their houses, so we have less vacant homes sitting around causing property values in the areas to decline.   

 It seems that whatever candidate becomes our next president elect, we are still in for a long hard road. Both banks and homeowners will be bailed out but before that occurs, they are going to take serious financial hits. We may only be delaying the inevitable by holding off on foreclosures and if people get new loans to help them out, they will pay down the road, when they sell their homes.  

If they realize equity when they sell the feds are going to want a piece of that action no doubt. I feel this bail out money is going to be spread around to those crying the loudest and hardest. Those that are working hard to keep their heads above water to make ends meet without knocking on foreclosure's door are going to be the ones that hold up this economy, but who will get the short end of the financial stick.   In my humble opinion these people ARE the middle class, not the upper class, not the lower class or poverty level class.

Yours truly is the middle class, those who will do whatever they can to bring home the green so that they do not have to resort to asking for financial bail out money. These are the class of people that still believe in doing the right thing, by not letting others bail them out all the time.  

 Check out this article below, which in part I have summarized for you. It pretty much covers all you would want to know about how the future may look if either Obama or McCain are elected into office. But I am hoping you already have a handle on all of this by now and have made your decision, because today is D-Day!  

Quite frankly what shakes out in the end will most likely NOT look anything like what either candidate has laid out for us over the past 2 years.  

Which candidate's plan would best ease the mortgage crisis?  

Bottom line is go out and VOTE for your candidate today, because if you don't, you have no right to complain about the one chosen. So be American, go VOTE and no matter which candidate is chosen, we all need to get behind him..Why? Because we are the UNITED States of America and we need to put the petty fighting behind us now and work toward cleaning up the messes we find ourselves in today.   Thanks for letting me rant today!           

History has been made and I for one was moved by both Obama's and McCain's speeches last night. As the underdog (I will NOT call him the loser) as he is far from that, but as the one who had to concede the race, he inspired me with his eloquent, respectful and generous concession speech. What a classy man from start to finish.

Then when Obama walked out there at Grant Park (a place close to my heart as yours truly is from Chicago, IL) he was also very gracious, not pretentious in any way and stated he was everyone's president and he will listen to us all. I may not agree with all of Obama's policies, but I am a FIRM believer that we MUST come together and stand behind this man as our 44th President and support him. We are the United States and we have to come together to bring the "Change that we CAN believe in".

God Speed to Both McCain and to Obama in their missions moving forward in this Country and in their lives.

Thank you all who voted and made their voices heard. 2008 a year we will all remember.

 For more info: www.marytappraisal.com

Mary Thompson Experienced Appraiser and Your North Georgia Real Estate Examiner: click here

The short answer is NO to both questions, not if it your home is tastefully decorated. There is such a thing as "Holiday Curb Appeal". Most people realize that during the holidays people decorate their homes inside and out and most people like homes that are decorated. When selling your home it is a plus for potential buyers to envision just how their decorations and trees will look in their "new" home.  The more they can "see" themselves in your home, the better the chances are for selling your home to that buyer.

So decorate tastefully and if in doubt ask your local realtor which homes in the area have great holiday curb appeal, then drive by them and see for yourself. Holidays should be a time for fun and excitement, so give your potential buyers all this and more when they pull up to your home.

Bake breads or cookies before showings to give the potential buyers that real at home feel. The sense of smell is the most powerful memory booster. People smell fresh baked goods and it usually conjures up some really wonderful memories for them. Don't forget to give the appraiser some home baked goodies! Just kidding, buttering up the appraiser will NOT get you a higher appraised value...but I am sure you already know this!

Not big into baking? Try a little tip - place a little dab of vanilla extract onto the top of your light bulbs on your lamps and once the lamps are lit for a few minutes it will smell like a something is baking in the oven.

So go ahead and decorate to your hearts content, enjoy the holidays and you may just get yourself a buyer. 

Happy Holidays everyone and come on back for more tips during the holidays if you are trying to sell your home during this special time of year.

Photo above provided by www.inmagine.com 

Mary Thompson your North Georgia Real Estate Examiner. Click Here

Photos of your listings are nice, video tours are better, but the new up and coming way to highlight your listings that will have people "sticking" around longer are slide show productions with music.

When done right with motion, special effects, music, etc. your listings will shine. How many of you use slide show productions on your listings? Check out this site. Slide shows for all occasions including real estate listings. You will say WOW after seeing how photos can come to life!

www.customslideshowcreations.com

Lake Home Listing Slide Show

Have a great day!!

As you know I am a real estate appraiser and in my last post I mentioned that we have been very very slow this year. I know you can all relate! Well things are looking UP!!

Happy New Year! We have been SLAMMED with appraisal orders in the past 10 days. Both sales and refinances. YIPPEEEEE. This is the beggining of good things for 2009!

We have one lender who has not had a loan in the past few months and this week they sent over 3 appraisal orders. This is a very good sign.

This surge could be due to great interest rates, maybe people are thinking I am going to need money to pay my Christmans bills or my Taxes or maybe things are finally hitting bottom and people are beginning to believe that the time is NOW to buy or refinance.

Whatever the reason, we are very happy campers at least here in Georgia, so go out celebrate this New Years and look toward better days ahead.

God bless you all and may we all prosper on 2009....It is about time. Those of us who have survived this horrible downturn should be commended don't you think? If we can make it thru this we can make it thru anything.

Can you tell I am in a good mood? Maybe it is the red wine I am drinking right now to celebrate, who cares, I am a happy camper and I just wanted to spread the Cheer!

Mary

www.marytappraisals.com

www.customslideshowcreations.com

Did you hear on the news, that we have 1 extra second at the stroke of Midnight as the earth stands still to catch up with the sun and stars, Something like that, but it is real for sure! Google it to see.

So whatever you chose to do with that extra second, make is really special and memorable. Longer kiss, longer gaze, longer thought process, longer dance, more sleep..HA HA

Whatever it is you are given 1 extra second for FREE....Make it worth something.

Happy New year everyone!

Just another note to let you know that we are still SLAMMED in Northeast Georgia with refinance appraisal requests. Music to our ears. There are sales in there too, here is to more sales for all the Realtors out there!

I wanted to let you know that I am the North East Georgia Examiner for the very popular and heavily visited www.examiner.com website and if there is anyone out there in Active Rain land that can provide me with some details about your particular area or neighborhood that falls in the Northeast Georgia or Atlanta area please let me know.

Here is what I need: Is your area still declining, is it increasing, how are the sales lately, listings, days on market, any new construction going on, etc.

I am also looking for specifics about your neighborhoods that only a local Realtor or Investor would know about, maybe a special house for sale by a famous person (if you can divulge the information) maybe a special upcoming event in your area as it relates to real estate.

I have an ongoing BLOG on Examiner.com  See link below

North Georgia Real Estate Examiner

So let me hear from you if you are a  North East Georgia Realtor or Investor or Mortgage person who can provide information on the current real estate market or happenings in your area.

Thanks and have a great week!