Orlando Realtor, Judy Chapman.

Today’s guest contributor is Judy Chapman. I asked Judy’s permission to repost this article she had originally created on her Active Rain blog. She takes an honest look at the situation that millions of homeowners now find themselves in. I have respect for any agent who is willing to tell the truth…then takes the next step and learns how to help homeowners in hardship.

Thanks Judy for doing your part to be the true Hope for Homeowners.

Maybe the recession is over…maybe sometime next year things will ‘level off’ in the economy. But, as Judy points out in this article, housing…or the idea of ‘home ownership’ has forever been changed……

In a recent post that I wrote called,  Do You Have 10 Years to Wait Around for the Housing Recovery?, I put on my analytical hat to illustrate the future of Orlando’s real estate market.

Anyone reading the post or studying the accompanying graph — learned that house prices in the Orlando area are not likely to recover to 2007 levels for 10 years or more — would have been either heartened or devastated.

For optimists, it showed a small light at the end of a dark dark tunnel.

For pessimists (or perhaps realists), only the dark tunnel existed.

In hindsight, I realize the post lacked the human factor.

People who purchased a house in the last 5 years are suffering in many ways — emotionally, financially, spiritually. The real estate market crash has consequences that go deep and strike at the core of who we are as individuals and what the future holds for us.

For many, our illusions have been attacked, our hopes dashed, and our beliefs destroyed. The ground has shifted beneath our feet and thrown us, almost literally, to the ground. A great many of us feel that we’ve been lied to, tricked, bamboozled, misled, conned, and let down … by our government, our politicians, our financial systems and, perhaps, by our own gullibility.

For many, life goes on as usual. Nothing has changed for them.

For others, everything has changed.

Many who purchased a house between 2004 and 2008 — which applies to over 100,000 Orlandoans — may very well be …

Trapped in their own homes!

Yes, the very sanctuary they go to at the end of every long day has become a prison.

The reassurance of familiar possessions and comfortable surroundings is gone.

The place where they know who they are has irrevocably altered.

The rooms where they make plans for a better future have darkened walls.

The very abode where they invested their dreams has turned into a trap.

Think about them for a moment and put yourself in their shoes ~~

What if your employer offers you a promotion, but you’d have to relocate to another city? You’re trapped.

What if you’re an empty nester and you want to downscale to a smaller house? You’re trapped.

What if you’re reaching retirement and you want to relocate to an easier lifestyle? You’re trapped.

What if you and your spouse are having problems and you’re considering a divorce? You’re trapped.

What if you previously relocated to another state but now you’ve decided to go back home to friends and family? You’re trapped.

What if you have dreams of pursuing a different career, which requires you to move? You’re trapped.

What if you’re getting married and starting a new life? You’re trapped.

One of America’s greatest promises has been our freedom to live and work wherever we want.

But now much of America is under house arrest, and parole is a long long way off.

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Proudly selling real estate in Oviedo, East Orlando, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, City of Orlando, Maitland & Winter Park

Neighborhoods in Oviedo - Aloma Woods, Bentley Woods, Little Creek, Kingsbridge, Riverside at Twin Rivers, Alafaya Woods, Live Oak Reserve and many other others

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Neighborhoods in the City of Orlando - Baldwin Park, Lake Nona, Delaney Park, Thornton Park, College Park, Colonialtown, Audubon Park and many others

Neighborhoods in Maitland – Dommerich Estates, Lake Sybelia, Lake Colony, Maitland Club, Maitland Forest, Minnehaha Shores, Stonehill and many others

Neighborhoods in Winter Park - Comstock Park, Lake Knowles Terrace, Sylvan Lake Shores, Charmont, Orwin Manor and many others

Florida Licensed Sales Associate, REALTOR®

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate

521 E Mitchell Hammock Road

Oviedo, FL 32765

To put your home on the market, please feel free to reach me direct at (407) 227-7763. Questions about the Orlando real estate market always welcome.

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