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Show The Ogden Valley news Volume XVI Issue V Page 13 March 1, 2009 SEMINAR cont. from page 4 For more information, please contact Mountain Luxury at 801-745-8400. Pre-regprivate practice with an office in Ogden istration is not necessary. Crimson Ridge is and resides in Ogden Valley. She can be located across from the Yacht Club at 5129 E. reached directly at 801-612-9299 or at Whispering Pines in Eden. Follow the “Any <ccanninglaw@aol.com> Lot for $250,000” signs! Short Sales By Brandi Hammon An Overview In essence, a short sale occurs when a lien holder agrees to take less than the amount owed on a property in order for the owner to successfully sell it. There are varying reasons for owners to short sale a property. Owing more on a property than it is worth is the obvious, but most owners could just wait until a market recovers if other circumstances in their lives would allow for this. Real estate values have always gone up and down at times but life’s needs don’t always correspond. So in a down market, job loss or change, reduced income, relocation, medical needs, family needs, and divorces are just a few of the possible reasons one might need to sell. So sellers must approach their lenders/lien holders and ask for a reduction in the principle loan amount if they owe more than the property is worth. This will avoid a foreclosure and reduce the likelihood of legal implications later on. The Process Short sales can be simple or complicated but they are always an act of persistence. More often than not, banks will not cooperate in a short sale unless the owner is behind on their payments. Late payments affect the seller’s credit as the past due payments are reported to credit bureaus. Usually a short sale is also a “pre-foreclosure,” and provides a limited amount of time before the bank will foreclose on the property due to missed payments. The amount of time to negotiate a short sale varies by the terms of the loan, the bank, and the seller. On average, there is at least 180 days from the first missed payment to successfully negotiate a short sale. While the exact repercussions of a short sale to your credit are unknown at this time, it is generally assumed it is less damaging to have a short sale than to have a foreclosure, and there are possibilities of other legal benefits. The key to successfully completing a short sale is to 1) get an offer, and 2) get it negotiated with the bank. Most property owners have a hard time talking to their lenders regarding the situation. Fortunately, there are alternatives to negotiating your short sale yourself. Short sale facilitators, these are firms specializing in short sales as well as loan modifications, may charge a onetime fee to help you through the process. Facilitators use attorneys to negotiate with the banks and usually have a good idea of what will be accepted by a bank because of previous deals. Attorneys are an excellent choice. Whether you use the attorney to negotiate a short sale or not, you should, absolutely, consult one no matter how you choose to negotiate a short sale. Verify they have experience with short sales. The possible affects of a short can be discussed including tax 1099 write offs, current exemptions, and deficiencies. Real estate agents are another solution as they are likely to be working with you to get an offer on your property. They can be a good choice if they have experience with short sales and understand the process. Again, consult an attorney whether you HISTORICAL cont. from page 9 drove away on their last ride. I was with Phylis when they passed. My father stopped for me to jump in but I didn’t want to go and asked to stay there and play with our long skirts, high heeled shoes, and our hair piled high, one of our favorite “made up” games. At that time, made up games were all we had to entertain ourselves. So I begged not to go, with Mama answering, “Let her play,” and, softly, “Let her be happy while she can.” And then Mama said so low only Moiselle and my father heard, “This is my last ride.” Just then a cloud darkened the sun. This Moiselle told me long afterwards. When they came back form the ride, I was called home. Mama was sitting on the porch, an arm around George, and I heard her say, “When you are grown up, you must remember this day and what I am telling you now. [You] must remember and promise me, and yourself, to be honest and truthful, to shun wickedness wherever you meet it. Remember your promise to me.” That last night, Moiselle stayed with Mama. My father had gone reluctantly to bed. When they were alone, she gave Moiselle her watch and chain. “I want you to have them,” she said. “You must take care of the family. There is no one else. You who should be gay and happy must take care of them. Leave baby Gladys with Mary, the baby I scarcely know. Tell Mary to love her.” It was early dawn when [Papa] called us downstairs we kissed her forehead so damp and cold, and there we watched her life ebb away. The sad funeral was held on Saturday, to give Aunt Tillie time to come back form summer school in Chicago. We walked from our house to the church, all of us dressed in white. There were numerous flowers form Salt Lake, Ogden, and Huntsville. For years, those cards were in a drawer in the book case; often I read them. One bouquet of homegrown flowers negotiate the sale or use another professional to assist you so you have a very clear understanding of your circumstances. As the owner, you will be required, at a minimum, to send in a hardship letter describing your current situation. The most common additional documentation includes two months worth of bank statements, previous year’s tax returns, itemized expenses, a profit and loss if tax returns are not available, and your most recent paystubs. All of these items will need to be submitted to the bank. It is a good idea to submit these documents early so your packet is ready when an offer is received. Once an offer is received, it will be assigned to a negotiator in the loss mitigation department. The negotiator will then reply with changes, a counter offer, acceptance, or a rejection. There are no guarantees a short sale will be accepted, but the current financial climate is rapidly making lenders much more agreeable to the idea. Local Implications Short sales and foreclosures in Ogden Valley are here to stay for at least the next 18 months. While they represent some amazing values in the market right now, they have contributed to a decline in property values. Short sale transactions are not to be used by appraisers to determine value due to the distressed situation, but still have an affect on the market by bringing nicer homes in at lower prices in order to compete for buyers. This creates some amazing opportunities for buyers with recent short sales in the Preserve generating multiple offers on new homes at $300,000 and under. The new owners are elated. While sellers have excellent opportunities to work through short sales with their banks, they also have great opportunities to get their loans renegotiated to better terms— even on investment properties. While all banks are different, there are solutions for both buyers and sellers right now. Remember when locals were saying their kids couldn’t afford to live here anymore? If they will ever be able to afford it, now is the time. Lots are selling for as little as $60,000 in Eden. Amazing! Tour Ogden Valley Short Sales March 7 Mountain Luxury will be hosting a tour of all of the short sales and amazing deals currently available—including 25 homes; 15 new constructions, one partially constructed; 1 luxury horse property on 52 acres; 1 luxury home; 2 Trappers Ridge homes; 2 existing homes; as well as more than 10 building lots. Several of these properties are not available publicly, so this is a great opportunity to get inside some of Ogden Valley’s greatest deals! Maps will be provided, and all properties will be open for self-guided tours. Register at Mountain Luxury in person on Saturday, March 7, 2009; or online at <MountainLuxury. com> The tour runs from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. Mountain Luxury Real Estate & Development is located at 2595 N. Highway 162, Suite 5 in Eden, Utah (Next to the Eden Post Office.). For more information, contact Brandi Hammon at 801-745-8400 or 888-9MYUTAH. came from Glen Jorgensen. The words on the card conveyed his love for her. My father had built of heavy pine wood, soaked in tar, an outer coffin to protect the inner one. That night Uncle Alma and Joseph, her half brothers, had a big dance in the hall above the store with an Ogden orchestra. We never forgot. The sad summer was passing away, gradually we realized that our father, looking at us, could entertain only one thought—that we were the cause of our mother’s death, and he had so many lonely years ahead to struggle on alone rearing seven children. His family being over balanced with girls, he felt they had to be forewarned of perils ever present such as running away with a man, of course, and having a baby minus a husband. And as often as he could find a news item on the subject, he would read us the story with admonitions of his own inserted. I remember one day, impulsive and audacious Carol cried out, “Do you want us to run away and have a baby?” That startled him into silence that day. His admonitions could only be on what prevailing pleasures were available then such as no buggy riding Sunday evenings after M.I.A. (Mutual Improvement Association) with a beau, no late parties, no dancing after midnight, no going down to the ice cream parlor with a Sunday night crowd, no sitting up late in the parlor. My father believed, like Cinderella, that the last stroke of midnight was fatalistic, and she would lose her good fairy’s gift of beautiful clothes and slippers. We knew that Satan came out of hiding then, and a good girl remained good only if she were safely home, preferably in bed. I had to become an adult before I lost the aftermidnight fear. In the Bible a verse that my father used often to impress us with reads, “You can serve only at one time either God or Mammon,” which left me feeling spiritually doomed, also my brothers and sisters, for I knew darned well we were bad. Ogden Valley Business Association Promotes Value for Your Membership Investment! group in OVBA publications and others, The Ogden Valley including the Ski Utah Planner. Business Association presented the 2008 Volunteer and • Provides unique opportunities to network and form marketing alliances with other business Business of the Year awards owners through special committees, the email at the January annual dinner. The board also distribution lists, Web Site, meetings and events. presented the direction for the association for the coming year. During 2009, OVBA’s focus • Maintains this Web Site, www.ovba.org , which is constantly being improved and prowill be to increase the value of membership moted to encourage visits by potential cusfor each Ogden Valley business. “Monthly tomers with community membership meetings content and Special will take on a new Offers from member direction, focusing on businesses, and gives topics pertinent to runyour business global ning a small business and local exposure. in this area. Our March Other Web Sites used 18 meeting at Carlos in various marketing and Harley’s will feaefforts include www. ture Kendall Card from ogden-valley.travel and Ski Utah demonstrating www.ogdenvalleytrihow social networking athlon.com. Our popusites can promote your lar Ogden Valley Travel business,” states OVBA and Recreation Blog Chair Carolyn Daniels. also brings traffic to our Monthly OVBA busiweb site. ness such as financials, web statistics and every- Pictured above are Jim and Ruthann Halay • Maintains a comday OVBA business of Alpine Pizza, recipients of the “Business munity calendar allowwill now be the content of the Year” award, along with past OVBA ing members to subof monthly online news- Chair Jim Ormsbee and OVBA Executive mit events which will Director Lisa Karam.. also appear on partner letters to members. calendars such as Ogden City and Weber “We listened to what our members requestCounty. This central calendar allows busied during our annual member survey and we nesses to plan and better maximize public will continue to emphasize the no-cost benefits attendance at their events. that members already receive with their membership,” states Lisa Karam, OVBA Executive • Sends an email to subscribers twice per month with members’ Special Offers and Director. “Members have the opportunity to Events (which are also listed on the home do e-mail blasts promoting specials, events page and travel sites). or announcements about their business to our over 150 members, they have the opportunity • Provides a Media Guide to give outside publications and media personal a central source to include coupons or special offers in our welfor Ogden Valley information. come kits that are sent to newcomers to Ogden Valley, and we are researching the possibility • Distributes seasonal Press Releases to local and nationwide publications. of a members-only discount card program,” • Seeks and obtains grants for expanded marshe continues. keting campaigns to bring more travelers to The OVBA is dedicated to the community our area. We developed the “360 degrees of and businesses of Ogden Valley, and it is the Natural Adventure” (at right) slogan and logo first and only local business organization for for destination marketing. our area. The OVBA: • Publishes the Upper Ogden Valley Area Map, • Needs YOUR unique viewpoint, experience and insight on all issues. Ogden Valley Phone Book, and the Valley For more information about member Views Magazine each year, listing all paid benefits or joining the OVBA, contact Lisa members. • Promotes loyalty to our businesses and offers Karam, Executive Director at 791-8801 or effective advertising at reduced rates for the e-mail <lisa@ovba.org> CHARTER SCHOOL cont. from page 1 Nancy explains, “The Montessori education philosophy focuses on the whole student. It’s such a tried-and-true methodology because it encourages students to explore their interests and to begin doing interest-based research at a young age. It’s also an integrated method of teaching that helps the child understand the relationship of all things. The Maria Montessori Academy will also have a strong community service outreach program; children love learning through service. The whole program is so well rounded. “Unlike many educational programs, where students are asked to memorize facts and information and then asked to repeat it back, the Montessori method cultivates the development of critical thinking skills. Classrooms are also multi-age structured where students can learn from each other through collaborative and cooperative efforts. It’s a true model of society where students are integrated into a community that mirrors our larger society. This teaches social skills that prepares students for age-appropriate, realworld experiences. “Presentations are another integral part of the Montessori teaching method, where students have ample opportunities to learn public speaking skills. Through the Maria Montessori teaching method, children will also learn (or learn about): • Confidence • Social Inclusion Skills • Socialization Skills • Manners—Grace & Courtesy • The Larger Global Community • Geography & Different Cultures The Maria Montessori Academy is also exploring the possibility of incorporating the Stephen Covey Leadership model based on his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and his book the “Leader in You.” Nancy Lindeman, who spearheaded the charter school project, and was instrumental in helping to develop and write the charter, has a BS in Special Education and an MA in Educational Leadership. She is also Montessori certified from the early childhood through sixth grade levels. She has 30 years of in-classroom teaching experience—10 in the public education program, and 20 teaching the Montessori method—that focused on developmentally-appropriate programs, and consulted with school districts to develop gifted and talented programs. Lindeman also opened and ran her own Montessori school in Georgia. For the past 20 years she has been a Montessori teacher educator—for the past 13, for the Institute of Guided Studies (IGS). Nancy and her husband moved to Utah to train Montessori teachers after the only training center in Utah closed. She has been training Montessori teachers all over the state of Utah for the past year, and had the “privilege” of training Head Start teachers through the Centre de la Familia de Utah Head Start Migrant Program. Amanda Scheuermann started the Ogden Valley Montessori School in October 2002, and says that she will continue operating the Eden school, focusing primarily on preschool and kindergarten classes. She states, “There is great interest in our Montessori education here in Ogden Valley. While supporting the new school, I will continue operating our established here in the Valley.” Amanda trained as a Montessori Early Childhood Intern at Cumberland Road Elementary in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and is the founder, owner, and director of the Ogden Valley Montessori School. She has been a certified Montessori Primary teacher for the past seven years, and took local training at the Montessori Lower Elementary level. She attended the University of York in York, England, studying Linguistics as an undergraduate. She also studied for a year at the University of Aix-en-Provence in Aix, France. She received her MA in Sociology at Aberdeen University in Aberdeen, Scotland. In 2000 she received her Early Childhood Certification from the American Montessori Society (AMS), Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. Amanda says that she is excited about the opportunity that parents will now have to send their children to a Montessori school that is state funded all the way through 8th grade. “Parents will no longer be limited to enrolling one child at a time in a Montessori program because of budget constraints. I have always been very supportive of the Montessori elementary program that we have offered, but not all parents have been able to afford this option.” Scheuermann adds, “Children love learning the Montessori way, and those who are Montessori educated, tend to become lifelong, innovative learners. The founders of Google.com are prime examples.” Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, along with Jeff Bezos, founder of amazon.com, and many others, credit their Montessori education for much of their success in life. On a Barbara Walters ABC-TV Special titled, “The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2004,” Larry Page and Sergey Brin credited their years as Montessori students as a major factor behind their success. When Barbara Walters asked if the fact that their parents were both college professors was a factor, they responded negatively, and then explained that they felt it was their education at a Montessori school where they learned to be self-directed and self-starters. They also added that their Montessori education allowed them to learn to think for themselves, and gave them freedom to pursue their own interests. A short list of interesting people through history who have attended Montessori schools includes Alice Waters, Friedrich Hundertwasser, Julia Child, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Helen Keller, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Mahatma Gandhi, Sigmund Freud, Buckminster Fuller, Leo Tolstoy, Bertrand Russell, Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, John Holt, Ann Frank, the Dalai Lama, Jacqueline Kennedy, Prince William and Prince Harry of the English royal family, Cher Bono, Yul Brynner, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Yo Yo Ma. The Maria Montessori Academy Board of Directors will be hosting two Community Awareness meetings—one in North Ogden and another in Ogden Valley. Please join us for an informative meeting to learn more about the school and the enrollment process. The first meeting will be held April 1 at the North Ogden Library auditorium at 7:00 p.m. The second will be held April 29 at the Ogden Valley Library auditorium, also at 7:00 p.m. For more information about the Maria Montessori Academy, please attend one of these two informational meetings, or contact Nancy Lindeman directly at <nlindeman@ comcast.net> |