Being environmentally responsible

I was at Walmart today. Sunday morning is the best time to go – no lines, no crowds and sales staff are all around to help. (Thought to ponder: Are sales staff in retail stores inversely proportional to the number of customers in the store?)

Walmart has changed noticeably in the last 2 years. Its become a lot hipper, has coffee pods, organic produce and ‘green’ products.

That takes me to my story.

In the main aisle that runs the width of the store and that has the highest traffic, I found 2 products.

The first was Garnier Fructis’ Shampoo. Not your common garden variety shampoo. This was Pure Clean and it proudly proclaimed to be a 94% Biodegradable Shampoo with no silicone, no paraben and  no dye! And… the bottle contained 50% recycled plastic. I loved the product slogan: Go Pure. Go Green.

How cool is that!

The 2^nd product was geoGirl lipstick. The lipstick’s container itself was made from cardboard – really cool. The packing was also cardboard, very attractive and made from ‘planet-friendly materials including renewable corn and recycled paperboard’. The little packing opened up to 3 little pages with tips on recycling and a glow-how tip. GeoGirl also donates a portion of net profits to support girls’ causes.

Incidentally, these are made in the US of A! I would want everyone to buy this product!

The prices? In both cases, prices were the same as the ‘non-green’ products.

Kudos to these companies for being environmentally responsible and to Walmart for displaying these products so prominently.

Why a Home going through a Short Sale is better than a Foreclosed Home

I get requests from buyers all the time to find foreclosed homes. Most buyers get a gleam in their eyes because they have been told that you can get a home for pennies on the dollar. There is always a cousin or a friend’s friend who bought a home dirt cheap.

The truth is that if a home is dirt cheap it's because it has a lot of problems – structural, roof, termites… and will need a lot of money to make it habitable. Plus, the buyer will not get a loan if the home is not habitable.

One home we looked at was $50,000 less than comparable homes in that neighborhood. Guess what? It had major structural problems and termite damage. Then there was a home on a hill - the garage looked like it would snap off!

Since the seller (i.e. the bank that owns the property) does not have to provide a property disclosure, buyers discover the problem only after they have entered into a contract and spent money on a home inspection.

So my advice is that unless you an investor and know how to deal with these problems, stay away from foreclosed homes.

Instead, take a look at short sales.

What are short sales?
When a homeowner is late in his mortgage payments or cannot make payments, the lender (bank) will start foreclosure proceedings. But with the lender’s permission, the homeowner can try and sell the house before it is foreclosed, and since it’s a quick sale, the price is almost always below market price. This way, the lender does not have another house added to its inventory and the homeowner walks away with some damage to his credit rating but not like the damage in a foreclosure.

What are the advantages to the buyer?
1. The homeowner is required to provide a property disclosure, and has to disclose any problems in the roof, plumbing, etc.
2. Often, water and power are on and in use.
3. Often, the home is occupied. And in cases where they are not, the house would not have been vacant for a long time. Remember, a vacant house falls into disrepair very quickly.
4. In today’s economic climate, lenders work pretty quickly when offers are received for short sales.

In a short sale, the house may not be a ‘steal’ but it will still be a ‘deal’!