These two young women in my office, Jackie and Colleen, invariably brighten up the gloomiest of rainy days. I call them my private sunshine. In their honor, I decided to quit being my curmudgeonly self for once.

Okay, I still think foreclosures in 2010 will be worse than in 2009.  But there are signs lenders are coming around. What do I mean by "coming around?"

First, trade journals and sites like Bloomberg are dropping hints that lenders are considering writing off principal. This has been inevitable since the meltdown started. They wrote it down during the S & L crisis.  This is good for  borrowers in trouble.

And it's good for me, since (I think) I'm the only agent in PDX Metro who has had experience with mortgage workout. I Also think I'm the only foreclosure consultant who is also a licensed broker, which means I don't have to steer a client to a short sale to get paid.

Second, I predict that these guys (lenders) are going to get their act together with short sales. They will fix a price (my guess is something around 92% of the loan amount) and work the deal. They do not want anymore REO, believe me. I don't know what that means for holders of HELOC's and other second trust deeds. Stay tuned.