I'd like to know would you consider this a fraudulent representation of facts?

Scenario:  A Buyer is having an inspection done on a home he's purchasing from a bank's REO inventory.  A sought after "foreclosure" deal that everyone seems to want to jump on these days.  The Inspector discovers a leak from an unexposed area in the kitchen as soon as the main water valve was turned on.  The Real Estate Consultant immediate stops the inspection and notifies the bank's Listing Agent of the leak and reminds him of the FHA guidelines for the condition of the home.  The bank's Listing Agent responds approximately 48 hours later with this message.
"My vendor has examined the property this morning and there are no active water leaks at Ramsey Close.  It appears that the dishwasher valve and laundry room valve were not closed off when the water was turned on by your inspector.  The house has now been properly de-winterized, water is on and active and the meter is showing no movement therefore there are no leaks.  You may complete your inspection at any time."

The inspection was initiated again.  All the faucets were turned on and no water came from under the cabinetry this time.  The inspector tested the outside faucet in the first round of inspection and there was no evidence of a leak.  He tested the outside faucet during the initial exterior inspection and did not have evidence of a leak.   

So months later the homeowner starts spring gardening and turns on the outside faucet to water his new garden.  When he comes in for a glass of water, he finds his kitchen flooded with water!  The homeowner finds the shut off valves and turns all of them off.  In addition to the valve for the water line to the kitchen sink, dishwasher, and laundry room, he discovers an unexposed valve behind the cabinetry for the outside faucet.  After testing the valves he discovers that the only way the water leak was stopped during the inspection was that the "vendor" must have shut off the immediate valve to the outside faucet which is unexposed to the naked eye.  It is located in an area that no one would know exists unless someone acknowledges that the valve is there.  Otherwise, even a professional would assume that the exposed valve is the valve for the exterior and interior faucets since they are on the same wall back to back.

The homeowner calls his Real Estate Consultant for advice.  He offers some potential solutions to remedy the problem, including allowing a contractor to create an opening so the valve can be easily assessed, according to building code.  His Real Estate Consultant contacts the Listing Agent and informs him that the leak still exists and was not caused by the dishwasher or laundry as the Listing Agent implied during the due diligence period.  He also reminds the Listing Agent, via email correspondence, that he said his "vendor" checked the entire home for leaks, DE-WINTERIZED the home, and no leaks were found.  He concluded the home was ready for inspection.

Would you consider this a fraudulent representation of facts from the Listing Agent, vendor, and the bank?  Buyer beware, the banks love to hide building code issues behind the "AS IS" sales clause.  There are still federally mandated guidelines for the condition and function of the home for FHA loans.  Don't think AS IS means they don't have to repair certain items in order to sell you the home with an FHA loan.  If I can be of assistance to you in any real estate or process improvement consulting situation, please contact me.    I'd like to hear your thoughts...

Beneath this cabinet base

flows this water through the 1/4th-round base molding

Buyer beware when buying a Bank of America REO.  You need an agent in these situations.  Make sure your agent is a professional, knows the industry and not just trying to get paid, can run calculations for you, can provide a strategic action plan, and can negotiate mutually agreeable terms.

A Real Property Appraisal Is Property Of Whom?

One of my clients recently closed on a loan with a preferred Loan Officers at Bank of America.  Al McGuire's a great lending consultant, but he, like many corporate professionals, is controlled by the bureaucracy and less than efficient processes of large corporate entities.  While he was being controlled by bureaucracy, I implemented every strategy possible to get my client the best overall deal, prior to presenting the contract to the bank for mortgage approval.  Since the Underwriter was dissatisfied with the purchase price of the contract, she thought for sure the appraisal would be lower, thus forcing the contract price down.  After receiving the appraisal first and restricting it from the buyer, she immediately questioned the appraised value, which was higher than she expected.  Then she begin a relentless pursuit to disregard the terms of the contract by requesting an appraisal review and requiring the appraiser justify and validate his report details.  After his legitimate validation of comparables and details, she began requesting repairs to the property based on details not present in the appraisal report.  In essence, making “blind” requests.

When is it appropriate for an underwriter to request repairs on a home they've never seen?  When is it appropriate for an Underwriter to request repairs when she hasn't seen the inspection or read the repair items already negotiated for the buyer in the contract?  Why would an Underwriter care if the grade around a house was sloped unevenly or the life expectancy of a roof is 2 vs. 4 years?  How does that impact the value of the loan?  Those are minor compared to HVAC, electrical, or plumbing and structural issues.  The bank requires homeowner's insurance, which will cover damages if something happens to the home after closing, so those protections for the mortgage are in place. 

Why did the Underwriter shift her attention from the loan approval process, which was already past the original closing date, to the condition of the house?  If she read the contract and understood the items agreed upon by the Buyer and Seller in the contract, she would see clearly that the Buyer had a Full Homeowner's Insurance, Primary Mortgage Insurance, several repairs already underway and a Premium Home Warranty paid for by the Seller.  Be mindful that the repair improvements do increase property value, so there’s just cause to re-appraise for an even higher value.  Specifically, I negotiated HVAC, Circuit Breakers, Refrigerator, plumbing repairs, and window replacements for my client, all with city permit approved workmanship.  These improvements are definitely more important than 2 feet of dirt in front of the house and the condition of a roof that’s already been certified by a roofing professional?  This is a perfect example of how large banks control the real estate industry through the mortgage process, causing property values to decline to crisis levels.  I don't know a single soul who purchases real estate in hopes that the value decreases.  If you know someone that invests in declining commodities, please tell them to call me.

The Underwriter's reason for doing that was that she questioned the purchase price of the contract initially and thought that the appraisal would come in lower, thus allowing Bank of America to loan less money in that area, 30310, which happens to be labeled a high mortgage fraud area.  This lower valuation of properties in the Black community allows cash flowing investors to come into our community, create unattractive images of the community to minimize home values.  Then their “inside” investors can buy properties at ridiculously low prices and then sell them for a nice profit.  You may ask, how do they “flip” the property in the current market?  Well depending on who’s making the loan, they can decide to make it a difficult underwriting process or a convenient underwriting process because the Underwriter is “god” as far as the loan approval is concerned.  They can question anything they want to and are given the authority to question if they feel like it without any major supervision or influence by their management.  In fact, in this case, the Loan Processor who works directly with the Underwriter took this file to her supervisor and the supervisor told her not to bother the Underwriter, the final approval is completely up to her.  Be mindful that the Underwriter is not a licensed real estate agent, appraiser, or inspector. 

Meanwhile, hard working homeowners living in the area struggle to keep their homes and its value, but can't get a 2nd mortgage to upgrade their property to maintain its value.  Not because they haven't tried, but because the bank makes it extremely difficult to get a fair loan without these types of blind obstacles placed in the way of the general consumer.  Eventually many of them are forced out of their homes only to have an investor purchase it with ease in the mortgage process.  They easily get funding to upgrade the home, based on finished appraised value I might add, and make a profit without ever living in the home or community. 

Nonetheless, being the knowledgeable real estate consultant I am, I always explain the importance of getting a Home Inspection and Survey, if you're planning on renovating or building additions. So my client was already aware of the major issues of the home and we were addressing those.  The underwriter never bothered to ask the buyer for the inspection or read the contract.  Steve Goolsby, with Top to Bottom Inspections exposed everything that was wrong with the home.  I like working with professionals like Steve because he’s a retired builder and knows homes like I do.  In this case, additional inspections were done by Electrician Patrick Cheney, an HVAC inspection was done by Marvin Horton, and Mold Remediation inspections were done by Jason with Breathe Easy Mold Remediation.  All are partners in my network of professionals so my clients know they have a solid home and a great investment at closing.  None of these professionals rated the Underwriter's requests as a major concern.

Let's think like a buyer for a moment, isn't it your decision whether you want to purchase the home before the underwriter intervenes with frivolous repair requests that you may have other plans for when you purchase the home?  Do you see how this is overstepping authority as an underwriter?  Be aware of this when you purchase your next home!  Being the professional strategist and negotiator I am, I immediately suggested re-directing her focus to the loan approval process by FHA guidelines, since the buyer had an A FICA score and thousands in the bank to close.  I also sent a 2nd copy of the contract to remind them that they were delaying closing, which was already 14 days past the original contract closing date.  It was clear that the since of urgency and the "Time is of the Essence" Disclaimer in the contract meant nothing to the underwriter.  You must insist that your lender honor your contract and abide by the timelines of the contract.  If you don’t you may find yourself in breach of contract and indebted for additional fees.  That’s another client story.  I finally thanked our loan officer and processor for their diligence and advised that he will be in front of another Mortgage Lender within 48 hours if they did not have the loan approved and in the Closing Department of the bank and our Attorney, Ganek, Wright, & Minsk, within the 48 hours.  If it must be delayed, it won’t be on your terms.  It closed in 42 hours.

Banks with controlling percentages of spoiled inventory strategically restrain the buyer or home owner from having ANY equity by challenging appraisal values that come in higher than the sales price.  We’re working as a community of professionals to sell property at fair market values, not at salvage rates just because the bank as inventory from bad loans.  I want the public to realize the bank's strategy is to keep prices low to offload spoilage inventory on their books to the investor community so they don't have to lend as much to get rid of the excess inventory?  If you look at an amortization schedule of your loan and consider your total payout over a 30 year mortgage, you’ll quickly see that it doesn’t matter to the bank how much they sell it for, in the long term, they will make lots of money on the loan.    

Well I'm encouraging newer agents to recognize that a part of your responsibility to your clients is to add value to their purchase, which doesn't always mean selling at the lowest price, but instead selling at the most equitable price.  Each sell that increases in value mathematically and unequivocally has a positive impact on the value of the neighborhood.  That is of most value to the buyer since after closing day, the buyer is now a homeowner in the community and directly impacted by the lower prices.  Suddenly, that great deal has put a dent in their future equity potential. 

We need to focus on ways to improve value in the black community.  It starts with a respect and understanding of what curb appeal means to value.  Keep your front yards clean.  Paint your homes regularly and perform additions to your home with the appropriate permits, following building code.  That adds value to your home because you can prove to a willing buyer that these are sound upgrades.  Otherwise, you’re decreasing your own home’s value and that of your neighbors with sub-standard workmanship.  Don't park vehicles on the grass or on the street for extended periods of time.  Cars are depreciating assets and shouldn’t be associated with real estate, an appreciating asset in most standard economics books.  Report code violations to the authorities.  Call me if you have questions about abandoned property.  As a real estate consultant, in most cases I can help find the owner to have issued addressed according to applicable laws if there’s no contact or response. 

Here's another question, who's appraisal is it if the Buyer pays for it?  Well, my Buyer and I didn't even know the bank ordered the appraisal, nor did we know the appraised value until AFTER the bank received the appraisal and started asking all these off the wall questions.  FYI, Appraisers are ONLY licensed and trained to give an assessment of VALUE, not to assess the condition and function of the home's elements.  An Inspector is licensed and trained to give an assessment of the condition and function of the home's elements.  If you have an experienced Appraiser or Inspector, they should be able to give a knowledgeable account of how one affects the other, but legally they can not be the source of the other professional opinion. 

Instead of the underwriter providing a copy of the appraisal to our client first, they attempted to alter or influence the professional opinion of the Appraiser before the Buyer ever had a chance to review the appraisal to make his final decision to purchase the home.  Isn't that mortgage fraud by influencing the information or use of the appraisal?  Examine case law on mortgage fraud between the years of 1998 - 2006.  Or simply ask me because I dealt with this exact situation personally in 2005.  I'd be willing to argue in court that its fraud and a conflict of interest for the Buyer.  He paid for decision-making information which was withhold from him and used against his best interest.  It’s a classic example of negligence.  It hindered his ability to make an informed decision to purchase during his binding Due Diligence Period.  I stepped in and forced the bank to release the appraisal to him so he could review it before his Due Diligence Period expired.  The Seller could have decided to terminate the contract and start a best and highest bid session with other potential buyers after the Buyer put up $400 for the appraisal and had a nice earnest money deposit in escrow.

Normal real estate transaction protocol is that the Buyer receives the Appraisal FIRST since the bank is requiring the Buyer to pay for it.  Legally, the appraisal is personal property secured with cash by the buyer and should be delivered to him as soon as possible after completion.  The buyer then has the right to distribute it to the bank for review AFTER he has decided he wants to move forward with the purchase of the home.

In any due diligence inspection process, the Buyer is using the appraisal to make an educated decision about purchasing the property BEFORE the Due Diligence period ends.  Bank of America requires the Appraiser to NOT distribute or disclose any information about the appraisal to the Buyer until only 48 hours prior to closing.  That is WRONG from every angle.  The BUYER clearly needs the appraisal information, in conjunction with the inspection, to determine the value of the home before he gets into a fully bound contract without any leverage to terminate and receive an Earnest Money refund.

In normal transactions, the bank chooses the Appraiser since it is lending on the value of the property.  Historically, the bank will have the Appraiser contact the Buyer or the Buyer's Agent to arrange payment and to schedule an appointment to access the property.  After the Appraisal is complete, the Appraiser sends it to the Buyer and the bank or they send it to the Buyer first and the Buyer will share it with the bank for final review.  Legislation resulting from the mortgage fraud and lending crisis of 2006 was created to prevent this from happening, yet its still strategically in place.  The problem is the consumer isn’t being educated about the process, so they don’t know to question it.  I’m strongly suggesting you question it or work with me and I’ll make sure the process works in your best interest. 

Bank of America is notorious for controlling and delaying real estate transactions in excess of 3-6 months.   More controls need to be applied to banking procedures.  Banks are the sole reason for our current economic condition.  They ultimately create unnecessary problems that the agent ends up having to resolve if your agent or broker is knowledgeable about how to resolve it.  I have noticed that with all the newer agents out there, we’re all new at some time, their lack of awareness of contractual protocol prevents them from recognizing the problem exists.  In such cases, the bank wins and the client loses.  Bank of America, specifically, needs a DOUBLE DOSE of Six Sigma Process Improvements.  The DMAIC cycle is begging Bank of America to open its eyes and implement it!  See the DMAIC cycle on my website homepage.  http://www.6sigmaconsultingllc.com/

I’m asking you share this with your friends and family so they’re aware of this trend?  It's been going on since the 1980's, starting with re-gentrification in the Piedmont Park and Grant Park areas.  I'd bet because no one knows to talk about it until a crisis occurs.  I encourage you to share your story with me also by following my blog.  I'll give them a voice.  If you have friends, family, or relatives in any of the "suppressed" areas of Atlanta, let them know that if they don't see the value of their home as an investment and extension of your financial plan, someone else will.  Remember, with investors targeting specific neighborhoods because of future development in prime urban locations, it only takes a little cash in the bank and about 60 days to take your home if you're not maintaining it.  The banks and investors want control and ownership of inner city property, such as along the Bankhead Hwy (excuse me Donald Lee Hollowell Hwy.) corridor for the multi-billion dollar developments planned for NW and SW Atlanta over the next 20 years.  Ask me about TAD, Tax Allocated Districts, areas to invest in now for future equity gains.  The first distribution of tax dollars already happened in 2010.

My goal was to help my buyer purchase with equity at closing, thus increasing his ROI.  And yes, my Buyer did have equity at closing and I negotiated replacements to every major function in the house.  He's very pleased with his final product and still experiencing savings from his former leasing expense.  His home will be used in all CMA’s in his area for the next 6-12 months, thus increasing values for future home sales.  How many buyers can say that in this market?  As the old saying goes, that which affects a portion, inadvertently affects the whole.

What's Up With Atlanta's Real Estate Market?

An Appraiser called recently to get access to Hill Street Lofts, a community I’ve sold several condos in over the past 5 years.  He was called out to perform a final appraisal for the short sale approval.  Apparently, my listing was his first Appraisal in the community and he remembered the detailed information I shared with him about the community’s situation and the declining values.  He asked me why values continue to decline there, specifically, and whether I thought it would be 5+ years before the Atlanta market improves.  He also asked, “What do you think about the current market conditions and what is it going to take for the market turn around in an equitable direction”?

My response was based on applied mathematics.  The truth is undisputable.  The market is suffering from two evils.  The first being the mortgage fraud in pricing and appraisal practices of major banks.  Secondly, it is suffering from buyer perspective about property valuation and the concept of investing in real estate.  When we invest in the stock market, it is true we buy low and sell high because that investment is short term and volatile.  When we buy real estate, we are investing in a much more long term investment, a 30 year mortgage, which is far from short term or volatile. 

Mathematically speaking, the market’s continuous decline is synonymous with the slope or gradient of a line, which describes its steepness or incline.  A higher slope value indicates a steeper incline of the function Y=MX + B.  In the real estate market, X = purchase prices and Y = market value, M = some factor having exponential impact on price and B = any constant factor impacting the market.

I totally get it that we all want to save a dollar and get the most bang for our buck. 

But purchasing real estate isn’t like purchasing meat at the market.  I educate my buyers that purchasing the nicest home in the community at the lowest price in the neighborhood is only a good for a “bragging right” up to the day of closing.  After closing, you own that home in a community which has just experienced one more decline in property value by the comparable price you paid for the home. 

Recalling the slope of a line function above, the X value in the equation has just been reduced by another lower priced purchase.  The value of a property, anywhere in the world, is based strictly on COMPARABLE MARKET ANALYSIS, or a CMA.  Therefore, if your neighbor sells his home for $50K less than CMA, guess what, your property value will also experience $50K CMA depreciation.  But now you’re an investor or home owner in a neighborhood that’s just depreciated in value and that low priced purchase directly influenced your decline in value.  Now, no one’s home is in a position to gain equity for as long as the depreciation continues.  That sucks, doesn’t it?

The property values around you are directly influenced by your neighbor’s property values and each low ball purchase lowers the value of every home in the entire neighborhood.  This is the hidden negative of purchasing low versus purchasing “equitably”.  If you “appreciate” (defined recognizing with gratitude or increasing the value of) your investments, they will grow and gain value.  If you don’t appreciate them, they will depreciate and decline in value, thus becoming a liability for everyone.  This is exactly the philosophy the wealthy use to move certain groups of people out of an area prior to re-gentrification.  Who wants more liability?  So, do you “appreciate” your investment?  If so, you will appreciate it before and after you invest in it.  Otherwise, why are you investing in it?  Are you intentionally trying to throw money away?  If so, I’ll be happy to help you blow several thousands of dollars!  Just give me a call and we can map out an affective plan to blow thousands of dollars over lunch, and yes, the bill’s on you. 

Perspective Primary Resident Buyers be aware that purchasing cheap will lead to experiencing depreciated value in the short term and slow to no home equity in the long term.  If Buyers would take a moment to experience a mind shift from a consumer to an investor, they would equitably appreciate the value of real estate before and after they purchase it.  Furthermore, the real estate investment will grow over the short and long term, allowing your entire community to experience greater “Return On Investment”, which will breathe new life into a market that deserves proper representation of the American Dream, home ownership.  Some may argue this point.  For those that do I offer this thought.  How else would you suggest reversing the slope of depreciating home values besides appreciating those values through increased, more equitable, sales prices?

Think of this example of fact.  The appraisal drives prices and property values.  If the Appraiser can justify price points with comparable properties with higher sales prices, no one can dispute the current value of the property.  The obstacle consumers have to deal with is the massive number of bank owned properties for sale.  In the eyes of the bank, vs. the HOA member, the property is like surplus inventory, or spoilage.  What do supermarkets do with spoilage?  They discount it first.  Secondly, they discard of the waste.  Finally, they write off the expense.  By the way folks, the write-off  stage is where your “Bail-Out money went.  In each phase, the value depreciates.  Therefore, if sales increase, there is less “spoilage” in inventory leaving less waste and higher sales prices for valuable property in your area.  To read about a specific situation related to this, refer to my blog titled, "A Real Property Appraisal is Property of Whom".

As in the input values and output values of the slope formula, y=mx+b, if you continue to input decreasing values into your equation, your graph WILL CONTINUE TO SLOPE DOWN.  That graph indicates the value of your real estate investment.  The only way to plot the same equation with an increasing Y coordinate, and thus a positive slope, is to input increasing values for X, which are your increasing sales prices.  Since M is directly related to the values and variance of X, sales prices MUST increase for property values to increase and the market to recover by a multiple of M.  The only other main factor, which we will label factor B, is Employment.  So B = Employed Workers, which must also be an increasing number input into the equation for values to increase. 

There are NO other ways to influence market improvement.  All things being equal, it is understood that the banks and appraisal industry also have a big influence in property values, but we will assume that they are following the same convention of investment for the sake of this discussion.  In fact, they stand to earn equally with their inventory directly and indirectly.  It’s a win win for the consumer and the banking industry if everyone values property correctly, which is equitably.  However, they would be factors of B as well.  So, if X and B remain positive and increasing, the real estate market will rebound in less than five years.  Thinking equitably now for the future, not the “give me more for less now” mentality, is the perspective Buyer’s must adopt for the real estate market to rebound.

Personally, I don’t recommend my buyers look for the cheapest home on the street.  I don’t say “spend your life savings and paycheck here” either.  I ask them to consider variables such as street in the community, location of home on land, and condition in comparison to other homes.  I recommend purchasing objectives that bring the most VALUE to their real estate investment and remind them that their purchase directly influences the direction the values in the community take immediately following their purchase.  By thinking this way, I encourage them to think of it as making a positive investment in the community.  The same concept is used when a person purchases in an organized HOA community.  That person must make an initial Capital Investment at closing.  The Capital Investment goes towards larger expenses to assure all HOA members that the property values will remain as high as possible by performing capital improvements in a timely fashion.  Just because you live in an established community, doesn’t mean you don’t need an HOA.  In fact, I would recommend that any older community would be will served by maintaining an active Home Owners Association.  Those that do understand that they are not an island and they must work together for everyone to make money on their real estate investment.

In the end, real estate is an emotional purchase that is led mostly by psychological influences for most Buyers, rather then by the true comprehension of the investment being made.  I’d encourage every active Buyer to ask yourself why you’re buying before you sign any contracts.  If it’s not to make a positive investment in your family’s future through the purchase and sale of real estate, then you’d probably do your community a favor by remaining a renter.  There are many nice rental properties that will allow you to remain in your budget while allowing community property values to sustain their equity.  If making a positive investment in your family’s future is your objective, then focus on the question most successful investors consider, “What is the investment is really worth now and long term?”  

“If you appreciate your investment now, it will appreciate you in the future”.    

Frederick L. Rucker, Jr.

The Weather Team

A friend called and asked, “Frederick, aren’t you from Atlanta?  What’s wrong with these people?  This is so backwards.  If I was in Philly...”.  In other words, why isn’t Atlanta more prepared for these situations?

As a Mathematician by degree, I had to take the path of least resistance and most truth.  So I answered, “if you look at the number of times we’ve had this degree of severe winter storms over a 10 year period, to make an investment in snow plows using tax dollars while the city is struggling for revenue already, I couldn’t justify the expense and I wouldn’t support it either”.  Now, additional revenue streams for the city of Atlanta, is another soap box I’ll get on another time.  However, as a Six Sigma Professional, I see many other areas of failure, or should I say opportunities for improved management from the top of the chain of command to the bottom.

First, having lived in New York City for many years, I know first hand that life goes on immediately after most normal storm systems.  But New York doesn’t have a snow plow for every single street in the city either.  New Yorkers have an understanding that the only way you’re going to get out onto the sidewalks and streets is if you clear your own curb and sidewalk for starters. 

Yes, it reminds me of a similar instructional topic I’ve written in many Inflight Service and Airport Customer Service training curriculums.  Many of you are familiar with the emergency demonstrations onboard commercial aircraft, “Secure the mask on yourself before securing the mask on your child.”  I remember a new student ask, “Isn’t that selfish Mr. Rucker?”  I replied, “No, it’s smart survival tactics.  You can’t carry your child if you pass out and you’re probably too heavy for your child to carry in case of an emergency.  So you may be the one in the most jeopardy if you don’t follow these instructions.”  Harsh, but the truth, in critical decision making situations, can be the one thing that facilitates the smartest move first.

So, in the same vain, I’d like to recommend that you be a good neighbor and Samaritan and rally your neighbors together.  Encourage them to grab a shovel and rake their driveway right away.  Do it first as an example.  Then rake the sidewalk and the edge of the street along the curb length of your property.  Three feet from the curb is the rule of thumb.  If you live in an apartment community, rake the space your car is parked in and the area 1 to 2 car lengths behind your car.  Consider it exercise, something many of us lack in our daily routines.  Before you know it, you and your neighbors will have a decent path to follow to get to a main road.  The next time we get snowed in with 6+ inches of snow and layers of ice worthy of a deep freezer, you can feel like a true New Yorker and keep it moving as your spirit and finances suggest you should.  I’ve provided a form letter that you can share with your neighbors or HOA leaders to distribute outlining a few simple things to do in the future.

A six sigma style solution that’s a win win for taxpayers, elected officials, and the small business community would be for the city to offer incentives to construction, waste management, dumping, towing, and other large truck using companies to invest in attachable equipment to handle snow removal for the entire southeastern region when Mother Nature wants to test our driving skills and sense of community. 

For those of us who can work from home and take 5 days out of the office, enjoy.  For those of us who get paid by attendance and performance, the coast will be clear for you to move as your spirit and finances suggest.  In assessing the situation from the 360 degree perspective of social, political, and financial impacts, this business model for solving the issue of roads and weather will change Atlanta’s image from a backwards, confused town to that of an international city capable of handling any situation of the 21^st century.  That’s the Six Sigma way!

Click here to open and copy the form letter for your community.

Mayor Kasim Reed's Weather Response 1/12/2011

Governor Nathan Deal's Weather Response 1/18/2011