The economy is doing better? Show me

Editor,

I was just reading one of today’s top stories in my Florida Realtors newsletter, and I nearly fell out of my chair when I read, “Banks making short sales tougher.” (http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=225103)

Where is it, exactly, that the economy is doing so much better? My seller still makes only half of the amount he earned when he bought his house and had a better-paying job. His wife still doesn’t have another job after losing one earlier this year, and she has spent a lot of effort looking. Home values in the neighborhood continue to decline thanks to the (bank-owned?) appraisal warehouses and new guidelines for appraisers.

Do any other agents find it as hysterical as I do that they want the values higher when they order the BPO or appraisal on a short sale, and then they seem to low-ball the value when it comes to the buyers’ loan?

I simply can’t stop laughing. I am completely convinced that the banks – the people who run them – live in either total ignorance or on another planet. Maybe they could let us know what planet that is, the one where the economy is doing so much better, so we can ALL move there and benefit rather than just a few elitists!

Lisa Butler
Exit Realty Select
Orlando