Club Chaos Agents - All Things Hollish, Wacked, and Jacked

I got a ticket a couple of months ago (I think in November).  Thankfully, it had been just over a year since my last infraction.  This time, it happened in a school zone (darn).  Admittedly, I was distracted, because I was running late taking my daughter to her art lesson.  As a further pathetic excuse, the school zone is oddly situated, since I entered it on one street, then it just sort of continues on another street after I turned, even though there are no blinking lights on the second street.  But that's neither here nor there - I messed up.

I wrote a funny post about how it took away AR time from me last year.  At least, I thought it was funny:

My Driving Habits Have Taken Away Valuable Blogging Time  

According to this particular course (which I really should have memorized by now), I read far too quickly!  At the end of each lesson, I am forced to sit for awhile before proceeding (which is why I am multitasking - I am doing the course while I write this post and hanging out on Twitter and Facebook). 

Let this be a lesson to all of you: Don't speed if you value your time here on ActiveRain, or at all, for that matter, since the material is simply stultifyingly boring.  If you don't already know the meaning of "stultifying", it basically means that it makes you dumber.  Look it up if you don't believe me.

I wish I could figure out why they don't ever seem to have the funds to update the course with new, fresh, hip video content.  Most of the photos and videos appear to be from about 1983 or thereabouts.  It's easy to tell from the parachute pants.  Kidding.  I guess they don't need to make it appealing, since it's not a movie that is optional to see.  ("Compelling....and mandatory.  Two thumbs up!")

Here's a quick quote from the course to give you an idea of what I am dealing with:

Intersections are the places where roads come together or cross one another. An intersection is technically the point at which curbs or edges of two or more roadways intersect or cross each other.

It is dangerous to pass another vehicle at an intersection and illegal in most instances. Such places include crossroads, railroad crossings, and shopping center entrances. Approaching the intersection, your view of the traffic is restricted by the vehicles you are passing -- and drivers entering the roadway will not anticipate oncoming traffic in the left lane. They may not even look your way.

Consider yourself blessed if you don't have to go through this anytime soon.

This is one of those meandering things that just happens every now and again, the two things are not related, but they both tickled my funny bone. 

PART I

I have a friend who has money.  He owns a strip mall and had a tenant, let's say they were jewelers for lack of something more imaginative.  So the tenant and the owner, my friend, became sort of friends.  The tenants are now citizens of this great country, but they started out life somewhere where the laws are just a bit more loosey goosey than they are here.  The tenants decide that since the owner of the building, their friend, seems to have more than enough money, they didn't really need to pay the rent.   No hard feelings.  In fact, they were very nice about it.  They kept sending the checks, only problem was, there was no money in the account to cover it.

My friend pays them a little visit.  Only one of the partners is there.  He smiles... Hello!  Great to see you.  My brother, my mother and my sister took a cruise on the Queen Elizabeth II and they are now enjoying the hospitality of a lovely 5 star restaurant in, we'll say Italy, for the sake of the story.  Oh really, says my friend.  Ah hem..., I'm here about the rent.  It seems that for the past several months, the checks have been bouncing.  Oh, no problem, says the tenant, here I'll write another check. 

I'm sure you know where this is going.  That check, the owner takes directly to the bank and guess what?  Insufficient funds.  The owner goes to his attorney who must know someone who knows someone and he gets all of the accounts frozen.

Now the brother, the mother and the sister are eating at a wonderful Italian restaurant... very pricey.  The waiter brings the credit card back... sorry... your credit card has been denied.  No problem.  Try this one.  Same thing.  This one?  No?  Okay, let me write you a a check.  Okay. 

Next morning, the brother here at the jewelry store gets a frantic call from Italy.  All of the accounts are frozen, none of the credit cards are good and their checks are useless.  HELP!!

Well, long story short, the brother that was here had to take cash over to the attorney's office and then the accounts were "unfrozen".  What is the point of this story? 

My friend just emailed me today to tell me that he ran into the brothers and he was invited over their home for dinner tonight!  Are you kidding me?  "I hope you are taking a food taster along with you", I say.  He says, all is forgiven.  Again... are you kidding me??  You stranded a cowboy in Italy with his mother and sister and you think all is forgiven?  Are you nuts?  I haven't heard back yet, but I am hoping he took my advice and took a food taster!

PART II

Here is the second part of the story.  I deliver Meals on Wheels on Thursdays.  One of my recipients didn't answer the door yesterday.  I peeked through the window, and I could see that his gas fireplace was lit and the dog was loose.  Very unusual, when he is not home, the dog is crated and no one leaves the fireplace on.  I called the emergency contact, no answer.  I left messages everywhere.  I am very worried about this man, who lives alone with his dog, Buttercup.  I called Meals on Wheels and I am told not to worry, they will handle it.  But could I do them a favor.  When someone is not home, I usually give the food to the next person, so it doesn't go to waste.  This time, since I continued on my rounds and back tracked to the home again to double check that maybe he just didn't hear the door, I was stuck with the meal.  Could I taste the food and let them know what I thought?

Well, I have made no bones about the fact that the smell of the food is not very good.  I swallowed and said... taste it?  She said.. "I would really appreciate it, I've heard the food has been better lately".  I answered... "I am Italian.. I have to say, better than what?" I admitted that it didn't smell as bad as it usually did.

I call my best friend Leann.  I tell her that she won't believe it, but the food I have been complaining about smelling all of this time, I have to taste!  Leann is very easy on food.  She thinks the Olive Garden is the best Italian food ever!  I mean, really?  Everywhere we go, she thinks the food is wonderful!  So she says, Susan, Susan, Susan.  That is definitely not a job for you.  You are too picky.   I'll taste it.  So that's what we did. 

I brought the food to work, and she ate it.  All of it.  I drank the container of milk because I happen to love going down memory lane with milk in a carton.  I was ready to get my blanket and mat and take my afternoon nap, just like we did in Kindergarten!  She pronounced the food to be "very good".  She even forced me to taste a bite.  It was a meat sauce served over boiled spaghetti with a side order of corn.  Corn with spaghetti?  Don't get me started.  I have to admit, it wasn't bad.  Not gourmet maybe.  But definitely not bad. 

So in one day, two people needed a food taster.  I got one.  I haven't heard from my friend yet.  Not sure if he listened to me!

Epilogue

My friend, the rich guy, is alive and well.  He had a lovely dinner last night and the host and hostess were very gracious.  One of the tenants has since married and he and his lovely wife have two children and they were just adorable.  My friend is a little gassy, but doing well!  No food taster needed.

I was remiss in not reassuring all that my Meals on Wheels person is doing well.  It seems that on Thursday morning, he had heart palpitations and had a friend take him to the emergency room.  He forgot he left the fireplace on and called me that night to thank me for my concern and let me know that he and Buttercup were doing fine.  I'm sorry I forgot to let you know that before.

Anyone Care to Dance in Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Georgia?

Here are your opportunities to Dance.....

Beginner and Intermediate Ballroom and Latin Dancing

Hosted by Shore Line Dance Club

Every Friday - both singles and couples welcome

Beginners 6:30 to 7:30

Advanced 7:45 - 8:45

Cost $40 monthly

Location:  YWCA for details 912-634-8219

Shag Dancing

Hosted by the Golden Isles Shag Club

Every Tuesday and Firday from 7 - 10

Location: Ziggy Mahoney's, 206 Retreat Village, Saint Simons Island, Georgia

Call 912-267-9077 or 912-222-1935 for more details

Square Dancing

Hosted by the Jekyll Island Squares

Every Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

Location: Taylor's United Methodist Church  766 Old Jesup Road Brunswick

Cost $3.50 per person

Saint Simons Island Singles

Every Friday Night at 7:00 pm

Location: Bonefish Grill 202 Retreat Village for dinner and social

Dancing on Ziggy Mahoney's, 206 Retreat Village, Saint Simons Island, Georgia

For details call 912-258-6994

Swing, Rumba and Waltz

Hosted by Seaside Dance Association

Every Monday at 7:30 at the Saint Simons Island Elementary School

For more information call 912-634-9527

Singles Dance Classes

Location: Thorpe Building of Saint Simons United Methodist Church

Every Thursday

Beginners 7:00 p.m. and Intermediate at 8:00 p.m.

For more information and details call 912-634-8218

Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Georgia Blog

As the number of foreclosures on the market in Sacramento continue to fall, banks are becomingly more demanding. It's not enough that they may want to see copies of the buyer's bank statements, a large earnest money deposit, a direct lender letter (which means some borrowers have to qualify twice) and proof of eye color before they'll look at an offer on a bank-owned home, but some reo lenders are insisting that the buyer's earnest money deposit become non-refundable upon offer acceptance.

Since turnaround time can be excruciatingly slow in many cases, that time lag can give a buyer the chance to quickly run over and conduct a home inspection, providing one can find a home inspector who will drop everything to do it.

The company I work for, Lyon Real Estate, has decided it will no longer collect earnest money deposits to place into trust on bank-owned homes. And that's a relief on several levels. First, banks routinely want to increase the deposit. For example, last week a first-time home buyer wrote an earnest money deposit for $3,000 on an under $200K home. The bank countered and insisted on a $5,000 earnest money deposit.

When the offer was accepted, the bank then directed the buyer to make a new earnest money deposit payable to XYZ escrow company in southern California. Which delights me to no end because escrows are handled differently in southern California than in northern California. I know this first hand because 30 years ago I was an escrow officer in southern California. The bank requested the new check late on Friday, which meant I had to FedEx the earnest money deposit on Saturday for a Monday delivery. But we got it there.

Yesterday, the buyer asked me why her bank charged her a fee for non-sufficient funds. She honestly did not realize that escrow would cash her check. She thought escrow would hold it until closing!  Although I had initially explained that her check would be held until offer acceptance, this buyer did not understand that upon offer acceptance it would be cashed -- because I didn't spell it out.

Which just goes to show that we, as agents, can rarely go wrong by taking nothing for granted.

Fortunately, she is able to wire the funds today.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming soon to a bookstore near you.

Photo: Big Stock Photo

Some local Chick Fli- A's are giving away free breakfasts! How cool is that? Here is some info and some of the locations with the free breakfast!

No purchase necessary, but there is a limit of one free item per customer per day. The offer is good Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Here are the Chick-fil-A restaurants to check out:
1341 North University Drive, Coral Springs 9409 West Atlantic Boulevard, Coral Springs 3211 Southwest 160th Avenue, Miramar
8190 West Commercial Boulevard, Lauderhill 11401 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines 12600 West Sunrise Boulevard, Sunrise 8000 West Broward Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale 7501 North Kendall Drive, Miami 3995 Northwest 107th Avenue, Doral

This is only for the month of Feburary. So act fast, and you can go everyday during the week!

ENJOY!!!

Have you ever gone back to take a look at your first star? Have you notice the difference in your writing from then to now? Now with the new team blogs (I was invitied to write for Club Chaos) I was going back to take a look at some of my blog post.

It made me think of who my target audience was at the time. It seems my audience was here on the Rain to other agents. I guess I wasn't using ActiveRain to its fullest potential!

I remember reading an article about personal photos. You know you are taught to remove all family pictures so the new buyers can place themselves in the home instead of looking at the current homeowners. When I wrote this post I was not expecting the respond I got.

So take a look at my first star, then go back and take a look at yours. Has your writing changed? And now who are you targeting?

I was reading an article this morning. It was going against what we all learned as far as depersonalizing the home. Most of us was taught when we go on listing appointments and after we get the listing most sellers ask us what needs to be done to the home. Our first response of course is to remove all the clutter. The second thing we always say is to remove all personal pictures.

Now my guess is you want the new prospective buyers to picture themselves in the home without seeing the sellers in it. Now I agree with what I was reading, having the pictures remaining up and around the home shows its a home. Makes it warm and comforting. You see its history and spirit.

Now I see both parts and agree mainly with the article. I love walking into a home and seeing the story behind the home. The family that lives there and enjoys its comfort. Why would we want to take out the most important part of that home!!!!

So my question to you is, " What is you opinion, What would you suggest to your sellers when asked of this questions". Will you go with the norm or will you step out of the box and keep it personal??

I will answer first, I'm going to step out of the box and keep the home warm and personal!!

Jeannette Neerpat
9000 Sheridan Street
Suit 90
Pembroke Pines, Fl 33024
www.Neerpat.com

Would you like a Free Market Analysis? Visit www.Neerpat.com

Some short sale lenders are demanding unsecured promissory notes as a seller contribution to the short sale. Over the past few months, I've witnessed an uptick in this type of activity, specifically from such lenders as Countrywide and Bank of America. I've also received a lot of email from readers about the increase in this practice.

Three of my Sacramento short sales are in this position at the moment. Lenders are examining sellers' credit and cash flow very closely and, if the seller has good credit coupled with disposable income, the lenders are refusing to let the seller skate.

Fortunately, in California, most of the foreclosures are conducted through a trustee's sale, which means first loans that are purchase money are exempt from a deficiency judgment in a trustee's sale. Sellers who refuse to negotiate the unsecured promissory note may elect to go through foreclosure instead and deal with the fall-out and consequences as long as they won't have to pay the lender back. But this might not be the best choice in all situations.

In 3 of my recent short sales, the promissory notes are typically about $10,000 or less on a $150,000 or so debt forgiveness. They are interest free, payable at such rates as $85 a month for 10 years. If paid on time, we negotiate that they are not to be reported to the credit bureaus. For some sellers, that's a small price to pay to do the short sale, especially if the sellers are current on their payments. Being current may qualify a seller to immediately purchase another home under Fannie Mae guidelines.

Moreover, realize that the banks may sell those unsecured promissory notes to a third party after escrow closes. This third party will pay a discount and not "cash value" for the note. If the note is sold, sellers might want to contact the third party to negotiate a further discounted payoff in cash. I'm hearing that some of these notes are sold for 10 to 50 cents on the dollar. That would mean an investor might pay $1,000 to $5,000 for that $10,000 note and may be willing to take a few grand above that for payment in cash.

Something to consider if you're thinking about doing a short sale. If you're a short sale listing agent, prepare your client for this possibility.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming soon to a bookstore near you.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub

My e-mail is out of control and I had to turn my cell phone off today. Seems when you write an open letter to the President people think you are a repository for their complaints, suggestions and inquiries.

Since some of my readers were kind enough to take the time to write their questions down and e-mail me their concerns, I shall return the favor and answer them here instead of individually. Thank you for reading my blog. Sam: I am not arbitrary and capricious with my sarcasm and irony. I have no problem saying exactly what I mean, so consider yourself warned. Susan Mangigian's Wordy C is about to make an appearance, so go get comfy people. Ready? Read on. I may surprise some of you with how much I really do know...

1.This is the Fannie Mae site where you can find some of those listings I did a mini-rant about. Notice how it is not a Realtor site, but a Fannie Mae site where you may conduct your REO search and go shopping for a bail-out property: HomePath.com

2. Here is where you can access Fannie Mae Mortgage Tools: Monthly Payment Calculator.

3. Here is where you can access Fannie Mae Mortgage Tools: Affordability Calculator.

4. Foreclosure Prevention information may be found here.

5. Yes, I can do REOs and Short Sales. Call me in the office to set up a listing appointment at 718-483-7339 if it regards a Brooklyn or Queens property. If the property is not located in Kings or Queens County, please do not call me to represent your REOs and Short Sales. I have little minions that need my attention and I like to stay close to home and my kids. My family comes first. It is a personal preference that I have grown less flexible on. :-)

6. The HomePath Mortgage Financing lender official lists may be found here.

7. REAL ESTATE BROKERS AND APPRAISERS WHO WANT TO BE A HOMEPATH FANNIE MAE VENDOR CLICK HERE (LOL).

8. Here is the reason why I am gently ranting: "Vendor Application Process: We only add vendors for our NPDC when there is a need. If we already have an available vendor, we will not add additional vendors. However, if we have a property in an area where there is no vendor available, we will review applications for new vendors." WTF? Does the word MONOPOLY mean anything to you friggin' people? Seriously... Everyone should get a crack at it. EVERYONE! There are businesses in my industry closing their doors for lack of work and you want to give away Fannie Mae bail-out territories? If you have an available vendor you are not going to add additional vendors? Is that double-talk code speak for Realtors need not apply we're giving it to our friends? Who picks and how do they select the VENDORS? Hmm... seems to me if you give a firm work, you should move to the next firm on the list and keep 'em rotating so we all share in the opportunity (or as many professionals as possible)... I would rather see 10,000 firms land contracts to sell 100,000 homes than 1,000 firms selling 100,000 homes. That's just me...

9. BTW, if "they" don't pick your vendor application, then the Realtor has to re-apply in two years... Does this mean when a VENDOR gets an area they have that puppy on lock down for TWO YEARS? WTF!?! A little help here Fannie Mae... seriously! How come you don't define what an area is? Is it a five mile radius? A zip code? Why so weird and mysterious all of a sudden? Is there a cap for how many homes a firm can sell before you move on to the next firm to spread the opportunity for workers to work?

10. Realtors who don't have Microsoft Office better go buy Excel. The Fannie Mae tech people didn't do the application as a PDF file. Noooo buddy-buddy. That would make way too much sense and we can't be convenient and transparent while redistributing all of that wealth around. Geez... It appears that somebody thought it would be a real hoot to make you have to open the application in a Microsoft Office Excel 97-2003 workbook file. Go figure... I don't know why I keep updating my software when the government keeps making me backtrack older versions to deal with their technological lag. Not being user friendly on purpose is two thumbs down. To think I've been sporadically picking on HUD's periodic lack of common sense all of this time (LOL). Fannie Mae has inspired me to mini-rant on this issue. I'm into equal opportunity spankings people. They dropped the ball with that point. Seriously. ;-)

11. Realtors and Appraisers, if you are not an Owner/Officer you can not fill out the application. So before the appraisers, sales agents and associate brokers start doing the snoopy dance, I regret to inform you you've got to be the broker in charge or a corporate officer of the firm. A vendor equals the Firm or a Sole Proprietor. They want your EIN. Need I say more?

12. Appraisers, yes, there really is an application for you. It's the same one. Seriously (LOL). Go get that puppy and fill it out if you are interested. Just remember the Owner/Officer rule. If you are a company of one, then hurry up and get busy bay-bay! You have to e-mail the application in. E-mailing it is mandatory. :-)

13. Fannie Mae Q&A regarding them selling homes can be found here. My darling public, this is a very good page of information for you to wrap your brain around. The bail-out bad debt properties will be up for grabs and they let you make arrangements for bulk purchases. What does that mean? Hell if I know. Maybe you should just take me literally there. Since you need to learn all you can about that and other points you may want to Google HomePath and keep reading  because the rules will shift as we go along. After all, that's what the Gov does. Make sure you read the entire Q&A. It is a short but interesting list.

14. Fannie Mae is swamped, which may explain some of their hypothetical stupidity. I encourage you to help them. Here's what and who they need: * appraisers, * real estate brokers/listing agents, * repair contractors, * eviction attorneys, * maintenance companies, and * closing agents/title companies. Wishing you well on securing your tentative two year slots. I have provided you with the links, get your paperwork in and start moving that inventory.

In the meantime I am going to be making a stink and carrying on about that two year stint. The rotation should have been truncated to allow more firms to participate in the program and nip nepotism, cronyism and I'm a contributor to your Political PACS sooooo hook me up crap in the bud.

Question: How many VENDORS get to populate an area? Where's the freaking grid so we can see how many vendors own a territory of bail-out REO business?

Question: How do we find out the ratio of properties to each company? What if vendor A only gets one home while vendor B gets one thousand? This set up whomps! I want to know where the transparency is in all of this. Who rates the vendors and determines if they are doing a decent job or need to be replaced. Where is the standard check list on evaluating performance? Inquiring minds want to know...We all have bills to pay and want an opportunity to move some bail-out REO inventory and install those For Sale signs on location. BTW, they have special promotional signs and material we have to buy to do this. Making more money off of us, eh? My Realtor sign not good enough so I gotta go hang your sign too? It appears so if I want to participate...

Now you know why I said what I said. More professionals will be out in the cold than included. That totally whomps! I thought you guys wanted to create more jobs? Making me wait two years for the possibility of being selected for work after you've selected someone ahead of me doesn't seem too promising to me... There are better ways of spreading the work around and it makes me wonder who benefits the most from this arrangement. Obviously the scales are tipped in an unbalanced direction for a reason. I'm gonna have to yell now. I want to feel better... Maybe if I virtually yell someone of influence will hear me.

(A) EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A SHOT AT MAKING SOME MONEY.

(B) THE PUBLIC NEEDS AFFORDABLE QUALITY HOUSING!

(C) IT SHOULD BE A MONTHLY LOTTERY ASSIGNING GROUPS OF INVENTORY SO NO ONE BUSINESS CAN WIPE THE FLOOR WITH THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF US LOCKED OUTSIDE LOOKING IN WISHING WE WERE SHARING IN AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ON THIS PROJECT.

(D) MORE FIRMS PARTICIPATING WOULD FOSTER COMPETITION AND CREATE INCENTIVES TO DO WELL.

(E) HAVING TO WAIT TWO YEARS TO MAYBE GET A CRACK AT SELLING SOME OF THE BAIL-OUT REO INVENTORY IS RIDICULOUS. IT MAKES ME THINK POLITICIANS STILL WANT TO HOARD THE HOUSING INVENTORY AND NOT MOVE IT BACK INTO THE PUBLIC'S POSSESSION BECAUSE POLITICOS WITH ANOTHER AGENDA ARE NOT WILLING TO USE EVERY AVAILABLE RESOURCE TO DO SO.

WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING?

I know what I am thinking...  This limited vendor plan whomps. We should compete for that business in an open, transparent market. We all deserve a shot to earn a living.

Before I go, I want the public to know that they sell 'em as is, maybe making a repair here and there, but Fannie Mae will not repair the majority of the REOs, SO BUYERS BEWARE! Get yourself a good buyer's broker to represent your best interests in hunting for REO properties and processing your paperwork. Have lots of fun window shopping at the site and stop freaking out in my e-mail account. This is not the end of the world and real estate markets will do what ever they are going to do regardless how any of us personally feel about it.

I have to go finish writing my letter to the President now... Maybe I'll mini-rant again later. So many issues, so little time... :-)

This isn't my usual blog entry.

I can't remember a time where I was awake at 4:00AM and wanted to blog. This is a celebration of electricity...but not at my house. 

Chanel and I moved in suddenly yesterday at my Mom's house. She didn't have power either but she did have a gas fireplace.

I seem to have almost lost track of time, but this whole thing started at 2:15PM on Tuesday. I was busy as usual at home on both computers editing pictures and working on a new listing, juggling a short sale, updating files, emailing, blogging....you know all the usual stuff that can roll into a real estate kind of day.

You know that dreaded sound when the electric goes off. A BUZZ...then nothing.

Prior to that, the Direct TV dish had been searching for a signal...not a good sign. Hmmm...I wondered if the sleet and rain had something to do with it? There was a good thick coating on everything outside.

As day went on and I was reading by candlelite after my laptop died, I decide to start preparing for a night without power. I found all my candles, flashlights, power cords and converter box to use my car as the source of power if need be to recharge. I took all food from the freezer and put it on my back porch.

I made it through Tuesday night and the temperature in the house had only dropped about 14 degrees.

Time for breakfast, I pulled the ice covered gas grill out on the deck and fried some bacon and heated water for coffee in my French press. As I worked on breakfast it was still sleeting and then it turned to snow.

I tested out my converter box in my car cigarette lighter. That was working to recharge my phone and flashlight. I carefully opened the garage door manually so I wouldn't die from carbon monoxide poisoning.

My emergency system was all running smoothly till friends started calling (that still had power) wanting to come pick us up for the duration.

Part of your brain says,"I can survive this and make due and the other half says I need electricity to survive."

So I let the friend come get me.

As we drive along with all my thrown together belongings, Chanel is clinging fearfully on top of the pile. All along the road trees are broken and no traffic lights work, cars are stuck here and there. It looks like a war zone.

By the time we make it to the friend's house, I see large trees hanging over power lines all around them. The power is off as soon as we arrive. 

My handyman calls to check on me and is in town with his truck. I decide to go to my Mom's house. He stops by to pick me up and off we go. Mom is no camper and didn't even have matches. She did have a gas fireplace! I figured it would be best to help her if I could get over there.

As soon as I arrive, I start getting her organized. I had brought all my power cords, candles, food, and whatever I could think of in 5 minutes in a big bag. Mom was amazed that I was cooking all our gourmet meals on the gas fireplace. I heated water for French press coffee and we were doing pretty well. I ran a cord to her car so we could check out some news on my laptop. I think she missed her TV the worst.

My handyman called again. Now, he was worried that I didn't leave any water on in my house and the pipes might freeze. He wants to come pick me up to go back over there.

As we go into my neighborhood it looks so strange because it is so dark in every house as far as you can see. We go in and get all the water on and I pick up a few more things I forgot. It's odd to see it in the dark by flashlight. I glance at the thermostat and it reads 48. I couldn't have stayed there. Good thing I left.

At about 11PM the lights finally flicker on at Mom's house. Finally, we don't have to camp out. It's somewhat normal but I can't sleep. The couch is uncomfortable and now I'm hot! Too much heat can keep you awake. So...I was awake at 4AM and decided to blog. It's nice to be connected again.

I hope my house has power tomorrow. I heard that work crews from Tennessee and National Guard are here to help. This might take some time.

A shower might feel nice about now!

Lizette Fitzpatrick- Principal Broker at Lizette Realty.

#1 featured Kentucky Realtor on Activerain.com and Localism.com.

Publisher/Author for the only Central Kentucky email newsletter on local real estate listings and sold properties, Kentucky relocation, local events, homeowner information and fun!

For more information on Lizette, Kentucky Horse Farms, Lizette Realty, Madison County, Fayette County, Richmond or Lexington KY real estate click on Lizette.us.

See for yourself what Lizette's extraordinary clients have to say about their Kentucky Real Estate experience. Copyright © 2009 By Lizette Fitzpatrick, All Rights Reserved..*How I Survived The Kentucky Ice Storm*

Family Fun in Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Georgia  Part II  

Family Fun in Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Georgia Part I  

Come and Visit Brunswick, The Golden Isles of Georgia and Cumberland Island  

Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Georgia Part IV Sea Island  

Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Georgia Part III Little Saint Simons Island    

Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Georgia Part II Jekyll Island    

Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Georgia Part I Historic Brunswick    

Homes Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Georgia

Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Georgia Blog

Photos Courtesy of Sherry Walter Photography