Treading Water

My mom and dad thought it would be real cute to put me in the water with them the other day. First off, I'm not a swimmer. I like to stay looking cute at all times. Secondly, swimming means a bath....ugh! They know I love boating but keep me at least 10 feet away from the water! Oh the stress.......

I'm sure the stress of me treading water is similar to those people facing foreclosure on their home. Okay, treading water may not be anywhere near as stressful but you have to remember I'm a DOG!!!

I thought I'd offer up some advice for those people who are nearing the big 'F' word.

Some homeowners who are three months to a year behind on their mortgages have chosen to leave their homes altogether. Anyone can walk away from a house — even a retired baseball great, Jose Canseco, who abandoned his Encino (Calif.) property earlier this year.

But attractive as "just walking away" may seem to a homeowner at the end of his or her financial tether, leaving a property to the mortgage-holder or other interested parties carries a serious credit risk and significant legal responsibility.

It's a good idea to call the person you may least want to talk to: The lender. Cash-strapped homeowners can get forbearance from their lender if they act early. This agreement reduces or suspends the mortgage payment for a limited time, giving homeowners a temporary reprieve.

A forbearance is not the same as loan forgiveness. Ultimately the mortgage payments have to be reinstated, and anywhere from three to six months of missed payments have to be accounted for. The very lucky — and reasonably well-off — can pay off the amount accumulated during forbearance in one lump sum. But for those who still find themselves in short-term financial trouble, most lenders offer specialized payment plans in which the borrower agrees to add a portion of the missed payments to the mortgage until the account is current.

Speaking directly to a lender seems logical enough. But surprisingly, homeowners who struggle and fail to meet their mortgage payments month after month rarely contact their lenders. And the further they fall behind, the less likely they are to reach out for help.

Walking away from a mortgage severely damages your credit and is not a good solution. If you're in trouble, TALK TO YOUR LENDER!

There are other ways to solve things and prevent ruining your financial future as opposed to walking away from your mortgage. Talk to my mom. She'll help you in any way she can with ideas and suggestions you can try.

It's my birthday!!!

Well it's my 8th birthday today! I have no intention of working today or answering any real estate questions for my mom! It's party time!!!

I have two things I want for my birthday this year...........TREATS and BABIES!!! I like to rip the heads off my 'babies' (stuffed animals) and eat the whole box of treats. Oh, how I LOVE birthdays! I know daddy will hook me up later with something off his plate...yay!

I'll talk real estate tomorrow.....today I'm busy ; )! See ya!

I'm Bored!

As the weather has been getting nicer I've been getting a case of cabin fever. I'm ready to get out and do something!! I've been listening to my mom and dad talk and they said that gas prices are really high and it's hurting a lot of families financially. This got me to thinking about things we can all do that are close by and not that expensive. Here's what I came up with...

Go to Menominee Park. It's filled with fun things to do like the zoo, bumper & paddle boats, playground, beach, a train ride and lots of picnic areas.

The Gallery Walk which is the 1st Saturday of every month. You get to see what downtown has to offer while looking at art.

Live at Lunch which is on Wednesday's downtown near the sundial. You can eat lunch while listening to area bands.

The Farmer's Market. This is every Saturday once summer begins. Dad likes to buy mom flowers here because they're cheap but very pretty!

Area softball games. You can find a softball game most nights of the week at many of our area parks. There's nothing like America's past time!

WaterFest on Thursday's! Listen to live music and people watch!

The Speedzone. They have auto racing every Friday night. Mom thinks it's loud but dad likes the cars.

Ripon Good Cookies. Take a trip to Ripon for a taste of cookie heaven!

Tour a cheese factory. Get to know why Wisconsin is the dairy state. You can take a short trip to Freemont and tour Union Star Cheese Factory.

Go fishing. The Fox Valley area is surrounded by beautiful bodies of water. Take advantage of it!

Here are a few websites filled with many more ideas for what to do this summer. Here ya go!

http://www.travelwisconsin.com/

http://www.oshkoshevents.com/

http://www.wiparks.net/

http://www.savorwisconsin.com/

Time to spiff up the curb appeal...

My mom and dad are in the process of updating the exterior of our house. They've been doing quite a bit of stuff but the thing mom likes the most are the flowers they planted. She said it adds curb appeal. I wasn't sure what that meant so I did some research and found out what a great thing curb appeal is....especially for mom's sellers.

Flowers are one of the easiest and least expensive ways to make the front of your house look inviting and instantly increase the curb appeal of your home. Without any real landscaping at all, flowers can transform a rather drab and dreary looking front yard into one that looks colorful and lush. Especially during spring and summer, you should take advantage of the season by planting pots and flower boxes.

You should choose colorful flowers that will be in bloom during the time you're selling your home. Planting the flowers in planter boxes and pots is easier than planting them in the ground and lets you more easily place them where they can have the most visual impact. You don't need to have a green thumb, or spend a lot of money to get great results either. Visit your local home improvement center or nursery and they will be happy to advise you of the best flowers and plants for your purpose. You can put together several very nice planter boxes and pots of flowers for well under $100. And it's easy!

One of the nice things about using flowers in this way is that you'll see the results immediately. And so will buyers visiting your home!

I think my car trips with mom are over....

I'm a little depressed. My mom and dad usually take me with them to run errands throughout town and I LOVE it! I get to bark at everyone in their cars and see tons of fun stuff...it's a blast. My mom said that since gas prices are so high that she wouldn't be going on as many errands in the car. Instead, my mom bought a brand new bike. She said she's going to be biking to places that are close and only driving to places that she absolutely has to. Bummer....and her bike doesn't even have a basket for me!

As I sat pondering all of this I decided to do some research and find out who else is getting a little tired of paying more and more money every single time you have to stop at the gas pump to fill up? Although not directly related to the real estate or mortgage industries, continually rising gas prices are hurting us all.

Gas prices are up 19.9% from what they were last year. A month ago, the nationwide average was $3.246 a gallon.

Gasoline prices normally rise during the spring as people travel more. However, the record pump prices have also been supported by high crude prices as shrinking profit margins cause refiners to pull back on production.

Higher gas prices are affecting (although not directly) our children as well. The cost to fuel the buses that carry children back and forth to school has jumped 35% over the same time a year ago, and that's 35% less money schools have for teachers, computers, and whatever else our children need to become well educated.

It seems higher gas prices have affected more and more industries including the airline and mid-to large sized automobile industries.

I wonder if mom and dad will take the boat out as much this year? I love going on the boat with them.

Where will it all end? I just want to get back to the good ole' days with car rides with my mom and dad.

Time to put the dock in...

We're moving into my favorite time of the year...WARMER WEATHER! I can't wait to lay in the sun, go for walks, smell all the food cooking on the grill, and my absolute favorite....go on the boat with my mom and dad! I LOVE it!

My mom had to work all weekend so I spent time with my dad helping him put the dock in. Well truthfully, I am a princess so actually, I watched the dock being put in. The guys got most of it in but still have a little bit left to go.

I listen to my mom talk to the neighbors about some new regulations that the DNR is trying to have imposed. It sounds like quite the controversy but my mom isn't worried about anything yet.

I wanted to make sure our dock is the appropriate regulation size so I looked on the DNR website and found the size restrictions. I thought I'd pass the information along in case you wanted to know.

Length and width of piers
• A pier may extend out to the 3-foot water depth, or to adequate depth for mooring a boat or using a boat lift or boat hoist. A pier may also extend out to a DNR-approved municipal pierhead line. Contact the municipality to see whether it has a pierhead line ordinance.
• Six feet is the maximum width allowed for any portion of a pier or wharf. This width allows safe loading of gear and passengers, and meets ADA requirements.
• Piers may be placed in a variety of configurations, including straight, or with a "T" or "L". Catwalks, finger piers or similar features may be used for access to boat slips, as long as they meet the width and length limits above. A pier may not enclose or isolate any part of a waterway.

You can find more information at http://dnr.wi.gov/.

Rain, rain go away.....

Yes, I know we've had a couple of nice days but now more rain is on the way. UGH! I'm ready to chase squirrels, the neighbor's cats and all the ducks in my backyard!

My mom has been showing many homes with water in the basements and is ready for this rain to quit too.

It got me to thinking though. A lot of times, water in basements can be prevented with just a few simple 'fixes'.

Start by sloping the ground away from the outside foundation (should be about one inch per foot). Extend the slope for at least ten feet. Seed it with a good lawn grass. Sodding is a common practice and prevents the washing away of newly graded areas during heavy rains. Where a large area of land slopes toward the house, surface drainage should be intercepted and rerouted some distance from the house. Dig a shallow, half-round drainage ditch or depression designed to route the water around the house. Sod the ditch or plant grass in it. If even a shallow ditch is objectionable, drainage tiles, with one or more catch basins at low spots, may be installed.

Next you can install gutters and downspout's wherever needed. Keep them free of debris. Where leaves and twigs from nearby trees may collect in a gutter, install a basket-shaped wire strainer over the downspout outlet or place screening across the length of the gutter. Repair gutters and downspout's as soon as the need appears. To prevent concentration of water at the point of discharge, use a concrete gutter or splash block to carry the water away at a slope of one inch per foot. Roof water can also be piped underground to a storm drain, dry well, or surface outlet fifteen feet or more from the house.

Trim heavy growths of shrubbery so that soil gets more sunlight and dries quicker. When digging up the plantings, remove any pieces of masonry, mortar, or other waste material buried near the house after the basement was excavated.

Windows or parts of windows below grade should be protected by metal or masonry window wells, with bottoms consisting of gravel to permit good drainage. Clear plastic bubbles are available to cover the entire window well like an awning.

Lastly, you can apply waterproofing paint the the basement walls.

Start by doing these simple things and I bet it will solve a lot problems. Here comes more rain....