Rhode Island

Today, I went shopping in my favorite grocery stores. I am so surprised that many items are either out of stock or they do not carry any more. This happens to not only one store but a few of them. Here in RI, we have shaws, superandshop and a heavy discount grocery chain, pricerite.

What are missinng? They run out of Fuji apples, some asian pears, turnips, etc.

I hope this is due to the holiday only, rather than due to the economy.

For those of you who do not know this little town, I would like to share with you some trivia about this small town.

1, Pawtucket is the birth place of American Industrial Revolution!

Sam Slater built the first successful commercial mill in American in 1793.

2, Providence, which is adjacent to Pawtucket, used to be the world capital of jewelries. And Pawtucket is just part of that Jewelry capital. Jewelry used to one of the major industries in Pawtucket.

3, One of the world's biggest manufacturer of toys and games, Hasboro, is headquartered in Pawtucket.

4, Sam Slater's partner, Moses Brown, who help founded the first mill in America, founded the Brown University, which is one of the 8 Ivy Colleges in this country.

Well, I know people's memories are limited to 3 items. But I think the the 4th item is really important. I hope enjoy knowing it.

Fannie mae has sent a notice to its lenders and attorneys that all Foreclosures on Fannie Mae backed loans will be suspended until 2009. This is being done while the Federal Government streamline modification program is being implemented. The streamline program takes effect on December 15, 2008. If you know any one facing foreclosure please ask them to call their lender to see if they have a Fannie Mae backed loan. I have already helped one family with this.

Happy Thanksgiving

Chet Szafranski

Keller Williams Realty

I just wanted to wish every one of you out there a very Happy Thanksgiving. In these times of economic stress, some of us may find it hard to osee the silver lining on the clouds that darken our skies... But there is one, at least: Things will improve.

When teh pilgrims first came here to New England, they had suffered religious persecution, had travelled a hard road to get here, and once here, had run out of food, and would likely not have made it through the Winter without help. Fortunately, there was help available, and they lived through the Winter. The help came from the American Indians, another group that had some suffering in store.

For us, we have some hard times ahead, but we should always think of what is good and kind in the world, and we should surround ourselves with positive forward looking people. The uplifting spirit that comes with this outlook is what made the world survivable for the pilgrims, for the Indians, and what will make it such for us.

There are good people out there, and good people do good things. Keep the spirit up, folks. We will get through all of this with strong, perseverent, forward looking approaches.

And more, there are family, friends and colleagues out there with you in mind, and hopefully, you have them in mind as well this holiday season. Things have been worse, and could be worse again... but our worldview is what will make us thrive.

Keep the positive outlook and positive things will follow.

And give thanks for being alive...

I am reposting this from one of our outside blogs, pertaining to third party handlers working for listing agents, but charging buyers for the service: Very Important for sellers to see how this can cost them money, and significant amounts at that: Find an agent that works FOR YOU, whether you are the buyer or seller, and be sure that they understand how to work with the circumstances of your purchase or sale.

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In Rhode Island real estate practice of late, there are many RI listing agents who require the home buyer to pay a third party handler for closing and managing in general the listings they have that are either bank owned or short sales. These third party handlers solicit listing agents, saying that they can handle the transaction, which is admittedly more complex than a standard listing, and that the agent wont have to pay... the buyer will pay. Ouch... so the listing agent can use the services of a third party and pass the cost to the buyer??? If you were the buyer, how would you feel about that?

We have received emails, meaning comments in WRITING, from RI listing agents that insist that the home buyer MUST use the third party handler, that the buyer MUST pay for this service, and that unless they do, the listing agent wont assist with the offer and contract process. This is unethical, and possibly in some instances illegal, and reflects on the skill set and competence of the listing agent. The damage is going both ways... we have seen where a home seller could have received more than $30,000 more for the property than they did, simply by having a more qualified listing agent, who would have worked with us, without the third party.

In the instance I am describing above, a house on Zenith Ave in Warwick RI sold for $150K when our highly qualified buyer was offering $180K... that is a difference of $ Thirty Thousand Dollars... the reason the house sold for this much less, is that this was the best offer besides our clients', the bank wanted to sell fast, and the listing agent could not handle the transaction without the third party handler... we tried to make the offer direct, but were hindered by the listing agent.

Now, granted that our buyer has moved on, and could have offered less, perhaps, but based on Current Market Analyses made by our agents, $180 was fair market value. So who lost money? The Property Seller, and the Lending Bank.

So this post is a warning to home sellers (and to banks) that this third party handler technique can actually cost them money, and lot's of it. The need for such a handler is a result of lack of knowledge and competence on the part of the listing agent... if your listing agent needs to use such a handler, find another one. The problem is that unless duly licensed (at least one company offering handler services is not) the fee for this cannot show up on the HUD Settlement Statement... and mortgage lenders will not pay for it. This means that either the buyer has to come up with cash at closing to pay, the listing agent pays, or the seller has to pay, cash. Another problem is that if your listing agent needs to use such a service, it is because they do not know how to handle this sort of transaction, and you should find an agent that does.

Bad all the way around. And unnecessary if the listing agent actually knows what they are doing. As a home seller, if your listing agent says they need this service, ask them who is paying, and ask them why they need that service to do the job they themselves are being hired to do... the answers may astound you. AND, if you hire this agent to list your house, you are risking getting less money for your house since you limit the buyers to those who are simply being duped... If you are a buyer, and your buyer agent recommends that you pay this fee, get another buyer agent, this one does not have the experience to handle this sort of transaction, and you will again lose by paying more than you would have to otherwise, if you were using a qualified buyers agent.

Get a qualified agent, who knows what they are doing and lives up to their responsibilities, and you wont have this sort of problem.

For more information: Seller agent responsibilities: Buyer Agent responsibilities.

Call us for more information, 401-293-0631, or contact us via email