Fox Valley Clutter Club – Unconventional Organizing

Read any article with tips for selling your home and the first things they tell you to do are clean and eliminate clutter. Showing a disorganized, cluttered home can give the potential buyers the feeling that the house is too small. "We'll never fit all our stuff in here!"

Defining clutter isn't always easy… Knick-knacks, trinkets, papers, clothes, arts & craft supplies, etc. All these things can give a home an unkempt appearance. Selling a home that is currently being lived in presents a handful of challenges, and I always think of a quote by one of my heroes, Ben Franklin, who said:

"A place for everything, everything in its place."

To me, this means sorting, organizing, and storing your stuff in a methodical manner, and keeping it out of the way wherever possible. In many situations, and for many people, this is much easier said than done. Some people just can't seem to find a way to get organized no matter what they try. This was the topic of the Fox Valley Clutter Club meeting hosted by Barb Gould of Bright Start Organizing held last night at the Batavia Public Library.

This is a fairly new club. I believe this was only the third meeting, but the turnout was good, and Barb really presented the information well. There are about a dozen or so "Clutter Clubs" that meet throughout the US. After the main presentation there was a Q&A session where people shared ideas and tips. I wanted to check out this club for two reasons really…

First, I can always use some help and ideas to keep my ever-growing piles of paper in order. I affectionately refer to this as a "paper fungus" growing on my desk! Secondly, as a Realtor I find myself parroting that same "Get rid of the clutter" advice and the groups gave me some good ideas for specific techniques to do just that.

The meeting covered some material from the book Conquering Chronic Disorganization by Judith Kolberg. Someone with chronic disorganization has usually struggled with trying to get organized most of their life, and their disorganization has had a negative impact on their quality of life.

Some people are "Situational disorganized", such as when a life changing event (having a baby, moving, divorce, needing to take in a loved one, etc) has caused someone to become disorganized worse than they normally are. Even if they were just generally disorganized before the event. People that have average disorganization tend to just be too busy, or are juggling too many projects and tasks to stay on top of things.

The book discussed gave some great ideas and techniques, or "games" that could be used to help start getting more organized, and the conversation and questions it raised I think would be pretty helpful to most people, even those that aren't considering selling their homes.

Warrenville Youth & Family Services Bowl-a-thon

I had a chance to stop by the Warrenville Youth & Family Services Bowl-A-Thon fundraiser on Saturday. It was held at the Bowling Green Sports Center in West Chicago on Roosevelt Ave. This was the 18^th Annual Bowlathon and it looked to be quite a success! I was there during the afternoon session and there were around twenty teams bowling and having a good time. There were also a ton of prizes lined up behind the alleys to be won in the raffle.

I only had a little time to spend there, but I did get to meet some of the WYFS staff and volunteers. They really put on a smooth event and I'll be happy to be involved again next year. I sponsored a lane this year, and chatted and joked with the bowlers on the team that bowled on my lane. I wanted to get a good picture of the signs they made up too. One of my favorite things about being a local Realtor is that I can advertise and get my name out there while still supporting such a great cause. Outreach Community Ministries and the Warrenville Youth & Family Services are doing great things in our community, and we should all show them our support!

My apologies to Barb though, who didn't start out this game so well. At least there were no last names on the scoreboard!

The Warrenville Youth & Family Services is part of Outreach Community Ministries, a Christian community service group in DuPage County. They perform a wide range of charitable, educational, religious and community development activities. WYFS provides services geared towards, you guessed it, families and young people in the Warrenville area. They provide mentoring, and also reach out to the Hispanic community in our area.

You can make donations directly to them, or support the Discoveries Resale Shop at Route 59 & Batavia road. Donate items to be sold there or just find some bargains for your home. All proceeds from Discoveries Resale Shop support Warrenville Youth & Family Services.

Related Links:
Outreach Community Ministries
Warrenville Youth & Family Services
Bowling Green Sports Center

Fox Valley Woodworkers Club March Meeting

I went to the Fox Valley Woodworkers Club meeting for the first time this week. As an avid woodworker I've been meaning to join for a while. One of the things that really sold me on my house was the full, unfinished basement. I had my woodshop set up in the cramped corner of a leaky basement, but was finally able to spread it all out. No more needing to move each machine out every time to use it.

Now that the weather has lightened up I made the trip to Bethany Lutheran Church in Batavia where the meetings are held each month. There was quite a good turnout, if I had to guess I'd say around 100 people showed up. The group is made up mostly of retirees, but there was a good mix of ages as well. I have to admit I certainly felt young again! Everyone I met was very friendly, and you can't go wrong with free cookies and ice cream.

I did stumble through a quick introduction of myself in the beginning of the meeting. I'm not always good at talking to a large crowd like that without a little preparation! I just mentioned that I live in Warrenville and really started woodworking seriously a few years ago when I started building/repairing electric guitars.

The meetings start out with announcements and updates of club activities, and this month the club president, Tom Sharp, gave a presentation on using putty molds to make small replacement or matching parts when making repairs.

After the main presentation there's the break for cookies and ice cream. So much for trying to stick to my diet! During the break I spoke with a nice gentleman from Naperville about the plans to remove the Warrenville Grove Dam on the west branch of the DuPage River. I may blog about this in the near future as well. It's a very interesting debate about restoring the river to its more natural state vs. the history and scenic nature of the dam.

After the break they have a raffle and members can do a "Show & Tell" session about their recent or current projects. I like this, since this gives me some motivation to get down into the shop and actually make something for a change! It's always interesting to see what other people are working on.

Next month's show & tell should be pretty interesting. Since the meeting falls on April 1st (April Fool's Day) the show and tell will be goofs. Too bad I reused a set of tapered table legs that had the mortises on the outside of each leg.

If you enjoy woodworking it is definitely worth coming to a meeting to check it out!

Mortgage Foreclosure Seminar at DuPage County Bar Association

Last week I went to a Mortgage Foreclosure Seminar hosted by the Dupage County Bar Association. For all the media hype about the "subprime crisis" I was surprised that only a handful of people attended. The information was presented by three attorneys, each covering a different aspect or perspective on the process. The presenters were:

• Kent Gaertner – Covered the different bankruptcy options available (Chapter 7, Chapter 13)
  
• Steven Bashaw – Foreclosure defense attorney (Helps the borrower address the foreclosure)
  
• Pat Williams – Lender's attorney. Gave the lender's perspective on the foreclosure process
  

There was a lot of information covered, and several different options discussed From the conversation afterwards I think a few of the people left still scratching their heads about what would be the best approach for them. It wasn't intended to provide any specific advice, but just to give an overview of the entire process, and what the various options are. I'm going to provide some of the highlights, but none of this is intended as legal advice. If you are facing foreclosure, please seek an attorney to help you.

There are three very important things you must do as early as possible:

Don't avoid it!

The lender will have logs of every attempt to collect. You can't claim you didn't know about it just by ignoring it. It isn't a problem that is going to go away, and the earlier you address and work with your lender the easier it will be to make arrangements to correct it. Once the courts and lawyers become involved it is a much more costly and complicated process.

Create a payment plan you can afford and stick to it.

Propose a resolution as early as possible. In fact, if you just got bad news, such as being laid off, a medical crisis, or some other event that is going to impact your ability to pay your mortgage, talk to the bank before you miss any payments. Don't propose a payment plan you can't meet. If you aren't able to follow the plan, the lender is less likely to continue to work with you.

Do everything in writing and keep logs

Present any proposed payment plans in writing. Also keep logs of any contact between you and the lender. Keep track of what was discussed, any agreements made, deadlines, changes to the plan, who you spoke with, etc.

Pat Williams spoke first about the lender's view of the foreclosure process. Having to defend the "big bad bank" is no easy task. He stressed the fact that the lender doesn't want your house, they want their payments, so they'll be willing to work with the borrower. If no arrangements are made and the foreclosure is filed there is no real chance to work things out. You still have options for keeping your home, but making arranging a payment plan is no longer an option, plus you'll now face legal fees and court costs.

One of the interesting things he discussed was what the foreclosure does in legal terms:

• Bank takes title to the property
  
• Extinguishes the mortgage and any other subordinate debts (second mortgages, etc)
  
• Clears the title for any buyers
  
• Secures possession of the property to the lender
  

Another point worth noting is that the entire process takes at least 7 months from the time the foreclosure is filed. In that time, you have options to pay off the back payments and keep your home.

Reinstatement

By law in Illinois, if you pay any defaulted payments, late fees, interest, attorney's fees, and court costs within 90 days of the foreclosure being filed, your mortgage is "Reinstated" and the foreclosure process stops. Because the bank wants the payments, and not the actual property, lenders may agree to a reinstatement even after the 90 days required by law has expired.

Redemption

If the 90 days have passed the foreclosure was served, the borrower may still keep their home by paying off the entire amount owed, as well as any back payments, and other interest, fees and legal costs within 7 months of being served notice of the foreclosure. While it isn't likely someone facing foreclosure can find the money to pay off the mortgage, or to refinance the home, it can happen.

Steve Bashaw then covered the borrower's side of a foreclosure. He also stressed the importance of working with the bank as early as possible. In addition to any proposed payment plan, you should send the bank a "hardship letter" explaining what created the situation in the first place. It should cover:

• What caused the default? (job loss, medical bills, etc)
  
• Has the situation been remedied or corrected?
  
• Was it beyond your control?
  
• If payment arrangements are made, can you afford them, your other bills, and still keep your home?
  

The bank isn't looking for a "sob story" but needs to know what the situation was that forced you to face foreclosure. Also, be honest. If the bank finds out you provided any false information, or gross exaggerations, they are very unlikely to work with you at all.

A common payment plan is to pay 50% of the back payments up front, then spread the other 50% of back payments out for six to twelve months, in addition to making your regular payments. This may seem daunting to someone that cannot even pay their current mortgage payment, but it is a start. The lender will consider any other reasonable payment plan as well.

Another topic, one that I think can be very scary and confusing, is the timeframe and stages of a foreclosure. If you received a notice of foreclosure, the sheriff won't be knocking on your door the next day to kick you out. You have at least seven months for the process to wind its way through the courts.

If you are past due 90 days or more, the lender will go to the court, file a complaint and begin the foreclosure process. The borrower is notified via summons (served). If the court is unable to serve you with the summons, the legal notice filed in the newspaper counts as notification. The foreclosure clock starts the day you are served with the summons.

You have 30 days after being served to file an appearance in court. There are court fees (approx $150), but the judge can waive this if he sees fit. The day you appear in court starts the "redemption timer", the seven months you have to pay off the entire debt and costs to keep your home. If you don't appear in court within 30 days of being served, the redemption timer begins the day you were served. If a court judgment of foreclosure is made, you have 90 days after that for redemption, or the seven months from the date you served, whichever is longer.

If you don't redeem the house in time it will be sold at a sheriff's sale (auction). The bank will put a minimum bid on the property to ensure they retain possession if no one else makes a bid on the house. Terms are generally 10-15% due the day of the auction, and the rest (in full) within 24 hours. Bidders are often unable to inspect the properties beforehand.

If the property sells for less than what is owed at auction, the bank can file for a deficiency judgment against the borrower for any remaining amount owed. If the house sells for more, any remaining money after all court costs or other liens will go back to the borrower.

Once the court confirms the sale at auction, usually one to two weeks, anyone still living at the home has 30 days to vacate. If they don't, the sheriff may forcibly evict them. Some buyers of foreclosed properties, and even the bank, may offer "cash for keys" which is money to help the residents of the property to move.

Finally, Kent Gaertner spoke about the option of declaring bankruptcy if facing foreclosure. I'm not going to go into much detail since this can be a very complex process.

Some important things to remember though are that bankruptcy is federal law. Foreclosure is state law. Therefore a bankruptcy will trump any foreclosure proceeding causing an "automatic stay" of the foreclosure process. It doesn't necessarily wipe out the foreclosure altogether though.

There are two main options for bankruptcy when facing foreclosure:

Chapter 13

Most often used when facing a foreclosure. Chapter 13 can be filed when you can make payments. You may get up to 60 months to correct any defaults. You need to show you'll be able to pay your current bills and any arrears over 60 months. Any unsecured debtors (credit cards, etc) will get as much as they would had you filed a Chapter 7. A Chapter 13 must be filed before a sheriff's sale of the property. You may be able to file a Chapter 13 and put your house on the market, if you agree to lower your listing price according to a defined schedule.

Chapter 7

If you have a lot of general debt, Chapter 7 may be an option. This is used when you cannot stay current with your payments, or have very little or no equity in the home. It wipes out the debts, protecting any assets that can be exempted, such as the homestead exemption in Illinois. The lender may ask the bankruptcy court to continue foreclosure proceedings, but the borrower still has the right of reinstatement or redemption.

Some of the other topics discussed were short sales and a deed in lieu of foreclosure. Which option the bank will except will depend entirely on the situation.

A "short sale" is selling your home before the foreclosure process, and having the lender agree to accept a price lower than what is owed, and to forgive the difference. You should work with a Realtor to justify the list price of the home according to the market.

A "deed in lieu of foreclosure" is giving the title of the house to the bank in exchange for forgiveness of any back payments. This allows the bank to get possession of the property without needing to go through the foreclose process.

Something else that came up in relation to short sales was the taxability of any forgiven debt. In the past, a bank could issue a 1099, treating forgiven debt as taxable income. Each of the three attorneys that spoke raised this as being an issue with a short sale or deed in lieu, but the Mortgage Debt Cancellation Relief - H.R. 3648 act may mean that, in certain circumstances, the forgiven debt is no longer taxable.

Bottom line is that I found this seminar very informative. I would highly recommend anyone that is in or facing foreclosure to attend an upcoming event like this. It won't provide any specific advice for your situation, but should give you a better understanding of the process and the options you may have.

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