Using Bad Real Estate News to Her Advantage

We have a friend - let's call her Carol, primarily because that's her name - who decided a couple of years ago to quit her teaching career to go into the lucrative business of selling homes. She has one son in college, another finishing high school and two more younger children, so you can understand why she made the change in professions.

Following her training and subsequent licensing she went to work for a broker and did fairly well - earning about what she made in the classroom while having enough time to attend to her family.

The came the bad real estate news. The subprime mortgage industry was going belly-up, foreclosures were rising and the market was being flooded with unsold homes.

Suddenly, her decision to become a real estate agent didn't look so promising. But she didn't panic or throw her ands up in despair everytime she turned on the news channels.

She changed her focus and began finding homes that were on the verge of foreclosure and paired the owners with investors she had cultivated over the years through her social and school contacts.

Today, the news for our intrepid real estate friend is rosier than it's been in some time.

She told us recently that not only is she making a decent living from her real estate business, but she gets some satisfaction from helping people who have found themselves in a tight spot.

Carol has even been able to fully fund her oldest son's college expenses and save enough to assist her other cildren when they are ready to leave the nest.

Now that's really good news.