I spent most of the day today learning as much as possible about foreclosures. Unfortunately, it's become clear that we're going to continue to see a lot of activity in this area. While I have a basic level of knowledge on the subject, I obviously will need more indepth knowledge going forward.

The class was taught by Phil Drew at Carteret Mortgage and it was excellent! Not everyone who knows their subject matter is able to convey it effectively. But Phil is clearly a gifted teacher.

What I really appreciated today was the detailed information on how to help your clients avoid foreclosure in the first place. A great deal of the class was spent on this. And while there are lots of details and an involved process, the most important thing to know there is to start as soon as there's even a hint of a problem. Early intervention clearly makes a big difference here.

From what I've seen most consumers who end up with a problem know woefully little about any of this. And, too often, the real estate agents they could potentially turn to don't know much more! Perhaps there's been no training in this because the market was so hot for so long everyone forgot what can happen. But I'd like to see an effort to make some kind of training on this subject part of the curriculum for every real estate agent. And I'd like to see it early in their careers.

Now is the time to work on this. Right now I know my peers agree with how much we all need this information and how much earlier we wish it had been available.  But the urgency will fade quickly when the market changes again.

In the meantime, I'm now in a much better to help clients who are worried about the possibilities of foreclosure. I have a better grasp of what negotiating strategies are effective with lenders, how to better protect my clients credit rating as well as their financial position after the house is sold or foreclosed. I'll never feel good about having to use this information. But I'm very grateful that I'll be better help to my clients when they need it!