Don’ta Cry Over the Milka Spill….
When I was younger my Grandmother, who was Italian, would say in broken English…”Don’ta cry over the milka she is a spill…” What she meant was, “ Don’t cry over spilt milk”. When I was younger, I always found it interesting when sayings or stories that I assumed originated in the United States were translated by her from Italian to English. Like maybe the Italians said the same things??? – like they had the same problems as people in the USA? Naw……that would be too weird
In this Real Estate market, in Burbank CA., we are hearing a lot of people who are crying over “ spilt equity” or lost equity in their homes. It isn’t an easy situation to handle, especially when the economy is struggling. As we have posted before, we are pretty lucky to be in the Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena area as home values have not dropped as dramatically as, say, Riverside County or other parts of the US.
What are economists saying about the future? It is not all doom and gloom – there are some bright patches as well. For instance interest rates are at an all time low, they haven’t been this low for 30 years. The banks are relaxing a bit more and people are having less difficulty getting financing for homes. In interviewing Edwin Davidian from Bank of America, he explained that the way to get financing these days is good, accurate documentation. Banks are much more willing to lend when the buyer has a complete package and good documentation, like proof of funds, pay check stubs, and tax returns. Getting all that done before hand is the key to success in this market.
So let’s get back to the ‘spilling of the equity’ issue – this equity loss is not forever. I bet many of you can recall the early 80’s when people were upside down on their mortgages and paying much higher interest rates than we have now. Some of them in the high teens. What we eventually saw was those people jumping for joy when the market came back. They were the ones in a position to sell and buy up when things got hot. I did the same thing and became a “Home Depot” junkie…(I am in a ‘group’, now, to help me with my “need to renovate” problem. )
Staying calm, cutting back on extravagant or excess spending, taking a ‘stay-cation’ instead of a ‘va-cation’ and having a plan will really go a long way in helping you and your family survive these times. We WILL come out on the other side and then all that time we worried and fretted will have been wasted. Let’s work together to keep away from too much worry and stress.
Santoro and Sons Real Estate Group is always here to help. If you have questions, or would like to discuss your personal situation, please don’t hesitate to call. We want to become your trusted Real Estate Advisors for life!