LARGO — Unable to make her mortgage payments last year, Karen Young was forced to sell her home and townhouse. Two months ago, she turned in her leased Cadillac CTS and moved in with her ex-husband.
Like many other Realtors, the 56-year-old Largo woman has seen her income crater in the recession.
Her response has been to focus on short sales, in which a property changes hands for less than what's owed on its mortgage. It's one area of the market that has seen activity, but Young said the banks, buyers and sellers in the short sales arena are often deluded and stubborn.
She's sick of futilely trying to make headway and has thought of getting other work. But what exactly?
"I'm over 50 and I'm a professional," she said. "So what am I going to do, get a job at Wendy's?"
Young was never a high-end player in the real estate game. But she knows it well. She got her Realtor's license in 1993 and has also worked as a loan officer and mediator.
Selling homes in the $150,000 to $200,000 range and handling mortgage loans, she made $115,000 in 2006, when the market was hot.
The year before, she bought a townhouse in Largo for $105,000. With money coming in, she rented out the townhouse and purchased a nearby home for $238,000.
The home's kitchen got new stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. She bought a laptop and new office equipment.
"And I had money left over every month," she said. "Then it just came to a standstill. It was a free fall."
Soon, Young couldn't make the combined $2,800 in monthly mortgage payments on her properties. She sold each for a loss and in October moved with a teenage daughter into a rental house in Seminole. Monthly rent: $1,100.
Young thought she could make it by focusing on short sales, but the work has just compounded her frustration.
"I have to bring everybody into reality; that's my job now," she said. "And it's not easy."
Young describes banks that are unwilling to let deals proceed, despite the money on the table being the best they are likely to get; buyers with poor credit ratings who think they can still qualify for the kind of loans they did three years ago; and sellers who just can't accept that the value of their homes has plunged.
"They are obstinate and mad at the world because they wanted to retire and sell their house for X amount of money," Young said.
Young said that in today's sickly market, all parties want more than they can reasonably expect.
Banks unwilling to accept solid offers because they are bent on a higher price are a major obstacle, she said. What they don't know, she said, is that the house may be in deplorable condition, a sex offender may live down the street and the most recent sale in the neighborhood may match the offer.
Then there are owners, especially wealthier ones, who are in denial that they face financial ruin. Rather than consider a short sale, they'll stay in their homes with blinders on, Young said, waiting for the bank to foreclose.
She's hustling, doing her part, but the deals aren't materializing.
"You can only do so much work until you're done," she said. "You're done."
With 2009 half over, she has made just $9,500 this year.
Unable to stay afloat in her rental home, two months ago Young returned her leased 2006 Cadillac CTS — $520 a month — and bought a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee for $2,300 cash. She and her daughter moved in with her ex-husband, the girl's father.
It's an arrangement of convenience, not a rekindling of a marriage.
She tries to prepare a nightly meal — he likes spaghetti — and he has helped Young with a little cash assistance.
Her former in-laws, she said, aren't happy.
"They just don't have any sympathy for me not making any money," she said.
Young is at a crossroads, reluctant to abandon work in real estate, which she loves, but unable to embrace another field.
The pressure is on.
"I'm starting to think that maybe everything is stuck," she said, "that I have to realize the market really is staying sideways and may get worse."
Will Van Sant can be reached at vansant@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4166.
About this series: Coping is an occasional series detailing how North Pinellas residents cope with the recession. If you have an interesting story to tell, or know of someone else who does, please contact Will Van Sant at (727) 445-4166 or vansant@sptimes.com.
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