Stephen Adams

Marcie, I got your original point. As you see, many people, even Realtors and Lenders too can be quite reactionary. That kind of underlines the "justified anger" of which you were speaking. It has been quite a while since I have contributed anything to Inman myself, as, fancy that, my family and I are losing our house as well as a direct result of doing what millions of other homeowners wanted to believe, that the already unsustainable prices of homes were simply going to keep going up. As Wenceslao Fernandez Jr mentioned above, there are many agents, loan officers and others within the housing industry who leveraged all that we had in the hopes (not to victimize others) that our futures (and those of our kids') would be secured. Again, as I mentioned, I too completely understood where you were coming from. My wife, son, large Border Collie, 2 cats and myself are living with my Mother-In-Law in a 1200 sq ft condo. It could be worse. It could always be worse. We are grateful, nevertheless. As I have mentioned from the beginning of my career in Real Estate in the middle of 2005 (yes, the top of the market), change happens. And that's okay. I see it as an opportunity to re-invent not myself (That part will always remain :-), but what I do as a career to support and take care of my family. Yes, I could point out all the "reasons" that things broke down, my leaving the airlines (from the frying pan into the fire?), our decisions to take care of family "the traditional way", yada yada. The bottom line is, as has also been mentioned, we signed the refinance papers. It is our responsibility and up to us to deal with life from this point on. People do need to vent, but it is unlawful to destroy that which doesn't belong to you. Come to think of it, if this is really all of God's land, who am I to try to make the decisions as to what it is really worth? Really? I'm sorry, did you mention opportunism? What about greed and envy? Might that be the real reason that "many people are angry"? If so, THAT is the root of their problem, and will be dealt with whenever they are grown up enough to go there. Hint - this usually cannot be done alone, folks. Perhaps that it is just as well for me to hang my hat up as a Realtor and just remain a Consultant on Referral status. Marcie, we have corresponded a few times over some of your articles, and I have enjoyed them. What's great about this particular article is that it makes you think, "why did she open herself up to so much controversy?" As someone who has done a bit of that myself, I will close this response with something I just said, "it makes you think," doesn't it? Best of luck (and mercy) to all who have been affected by this major shift. Speaking of which, As I write this from my Apple computer, can't paradigm shifts be a good thing? This too shall pass... remember, the good things as well as the bad things. "There is a season for everything." Regards, Stephen Adams www.NewPhaseRealty.com Stephen@NewPhaseRealty.com

Alison, Beautiful job and well written! It made me smile. Thanks for your honesty and reminding many of us to "batten down the hatches" and to keep learning. In understanding that we are in a cycle (a rather steep one at that), there is still comfort in knowing that "This too shall pass." BTW - perhaps the Realtor you saw was your successful future - only not the "witchy" part :) Stephen Adams Keller Williams Realty www.NewPhaseRealty.com

Alison, Look at that, I didn't follow your advice and spell your name right! My apologies. Again, great post. Learning from errors, Stephen