Archive for March, 2020

How to Work Together as a Team and Get Through a Crisis

Monday, March 30th, 2020
Now’s the time to work together as a team and get through our current situation. Be kind. Stay home. And call your friends, family members, and neighbors.

When a crisis strikes, working quickly to get ahead of it is key. And working together as a team is the quickest way to work through any crisis because together we’re stronger. Everyone responds differently to a crisis. But we all have different and unique abilities. That’s why we need to work together! Together we complement each other’s strengths to manage and get through tough times. But how exactly, do we work together in crises?

What It Takes to Work Together as a Team in Crisis

Crises never show up at opportune times. And that’s why they’re stressful to go through. But when we prepare for a crisis before it hits, we can diminish a lot of that stress.

The first and best piece of advice offered is to anticipate a crisis. No one is immune to or exempt from major or minor crises. Simply, because you are alive, crises will happen.

3 Steps to Take to Emerge Out of a Crisis Situation Confidently

Getting your family, business, or community through a serious situation is emotionally challenging. Here are three steps you can take to help you out of troublesome times.

Step 1: Prepare in Advance 

Crisis plans make a difference when it matters most. So have an actionable plan ready to put into place before a crisis arises.

When we don’t prepare for a crisis situation ahead of time, we open ourselves up to panic and insecurity. It is stressful. Some of us go into denial. Others assume dealing with this crisis is someone else’s job. And many begin blaming or attacking someone in leadership. We react instead of enacting a well-planned strategy prepared ahead of time.

So avoid a lot of stress before disaster strikes. Prepare for life’s inevitable surprises in advance.

Step 2: Find the Facts

Empower your family, business, or community with the facts. When we know what we’re up against, what we’re dealing with, we can handle a tough situation with a lot more confidence.

Step 3: Reconnect and Maintain Social Connection

During a crisis, uncertainty and confusion abound. When a crisis hits, we want our basic needs met – security, warmth, food, and the absence of pain. If our basic needs are not met, we can cease to function.

Today, our livelihood has been threatened by COVID-19. Businesses are shutting down to help stop the spread of this virus creating financial hardship for many.

With so much uncertainty and confusion, it’s important to reconnect and maintain a social connection.

Most people really appreciate staying in touch during hard times. Contact your neighbors, friends, family, and business clients and colleagues by phone, text, or email. Make sure they are okay. Offer to help them in whatever way you can.

Creatively and safely socializing.

Implement creative ways to socialize without inviting others into your home or vice versa. Just today, I saw three moms park their vehicles in a large parking lot, open the rear doors of their vans, and visit with each other from a distance.

Work Together as a Team Through Loss

This time of crisis for us brings loss as well as gain – the loss of loved ones, the loss of a way of life as we knew it. And with all loss comes grief, pain, and suffering. It’s important that we allow help people grieve because we cannot move on until we grieve for that which is gone.

I challenge you to rise to the occasion during our present crisis through:

  • Creativity
  • Ingenuity
  • Optimism
  • A willingness to work hard
  • The ability to make difficult choices
  • Accepting sacrifices
  • Setting personal interests aside in favor of the interests of others

People are finding the stress and uncertainty of our present situation debilitating.

But troublesome times show us what we’re truly made of. They allow us to find out what really matters and who really cares. We discover what is important and what isn’t.

3 Assets to Anchor Us in Uncertain Times

When we feel fearful and anxious, it’s hard to manage our own thoughts and be mindful of others at the same time. But as challenging as it is, we must if we’re going to come through this crisis better than we were.

There are three key assets that anchor us in uncertain times:

  1. Hope
  2. Confidence
  3. Reasonable optimism

They help us to be more resilient and more creative, a better version of ourselves. We see our key values confirmed and our community working hard to preserve what we’ve always cared about.

With responsibility, mindfulness, kindness, compassion, and consideration, we can and will get through this crisis.

We will get through this. But it has to be together.

In what ways are you working together as a team to get through our present crisis? Are you working from home? How are you dealing with all the new challenges our new normal brings?

Charles D’Alessandroyour Brooklyn Real Estate Agent with Fillmore Real Estate is completely shut down and committed to your safety during the COVID-19 health crisis in compliance with the State of New York public health policies. If you have any questions or need anything from me, reach out at (718) 253-9600 ext. 206 or email [email protected]. I’d love to help you find the perfect place to call home. Be kind. Stay home. And take care!


Charles D'Alessandro

Charles D’Alessandro
Your Brooklyn Real Estate Agent
718-253-9600 ext. 206

What You Need to Know About Reverse Mortgages

Sunday, March 15th, 2020
About reverse mortgages
Before you sign any papers, it’s very important that you understand everything you need to know about Reverse Mortgages.

Seniors, are you having trouble getting through retirement? Have you’ve heard about Reverse Mortgages and how other seniors have pulled the equity out of their homes to help them get through retirement? Does all this Reverse Mortgage information confuse you?

It’s important to understand what a Reverse Mortgage is as well as the benefits and risks of this type of loan before you sign any papers. Banks offer information on these types of loans, but you may find attending a workshop to be more helpful.

What Is It?

Investopedia.com defines a reverse mortgage as “a loan. A homeowner who is 62 or older and has considerable home equity can borrow against the value of their home and receive funds as a lump sum, fixed monthly payment or line of credit. Unlike a forward mortgage – the type used to buy a home – a reverse mortgage doesn’t require the homeowner to make any loan payments.

”Instead, the entire loan balance becomes due and payable when the borrower dies, moves away permanently or sells the home. Federal regulations require lenders to structure the transaction so the loan amount doesn’t exceed the home’s value and the borrower or borrower’s estate won’t be held responsible for paying the difference if the loan balance does become larger than the home’s value. One way this could happen is through a drop in the home’s market value; another is if the borrower lives a long time.”

How Do Reverse Mortgages Work?

When you take out a reverse mortgage loan, you basically pull out the equity you have in your home to help you through retirement. You can choose to take out that equity in one of two ways:

  • One lump sum
  • Monthly payments

The loan does not need to be paid back until you either sell your home or stop living in it.

Your homeowner’s insurance needs to be maintained and the taxes on your home paid.

If you choose to, you can make payments on your reverse mortgage. But these payments are not required.

What Benefits Does a Reverse Mortgage Offer Seniors?

Most people who are over the age of 62 have half of their net worth tied up in their homes. A Reverse Mortgage allows you to cash out your equity when you need it while still living in your home. This is the most appealing feature of this type of loan. With a Reverse Mortgage, it’s quite possible to live comfortably in retirement.

Are There Risks Involved?

This all sounds great, but are there risks involved? Yes. A Reverse Mortgage puts your home at risk because it limits the amount of money you can pass on to your children when you die. How?

  1. When you die and your children inherit your home, they must either pay off the mortgage themselves or sell the property to pay off the loan.
  2. If you can no longer live independently in your home and must move into a nursing home, the reverse mortgage must be paid off. This usually means you must sell your home.
  3. The interest rates on a Reverse Mortgage loan may be high depending on your credit.
  4. If you put your home up as collateral and then borrow money against your home, you risk losing it.

Also, be aware of other possibly risky scenarios. For example, if you sign the reverse mortgage and go into a nursing home while your spouse lives in the home, the terms state the loan must be paid back. This means your spouse may no longer have a home to live in.

Risks can be reduced by limiting the amount you borrow on the loan. If the loan is smaller than the total equity, you can sell the home and still have enough to buy a smaller place live.

And since the risks could involve and affect your children greatly, talk with them when you take out a reverse mortgage.

Knowing About Reverse Mortgages

Maintaining your independence and solving a cash flow problem if your retirement benefits don’t cover your expenses is ideal. So carefully review all available information as well as the terms on a Reverse Mortgage. And once you understand the benefits as well as the risks of Reverse Mortgages, you can decide whether or not it’s good for you.

Many government agencies caution seniors to review the terms and consider all their options before taking out a Reverse Mortgage.

Are you confused about Reverse Mortgages? Contact me, Charles D’Alessandroyour Brooklyn Real Estate Agent with Fillmore Real Estate with your questions. I can help. Call (718) 253-9600 ext. 206 or email [email protected] today.


Charles D'Alessandro

Charles D’Alessandro
Your Brooklyn Real Estate Agent
718-253-9600 ext. 206