Dinosaur Bones On the Ranch in Oklahoma? - 04/30/08 10:43 PM
One of the joys of owning your own piece of real estate comes from things you find. Sometimes its a find in the backyard. A friend of mine found coins from the revolutionary war days on his property in south Jersey.
Our friends, the Colonel and his Darlin', were walking the limestone … (14 comments)
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Southwest Colors in Spring: This Cactus Really Is Purple! - 04/29/08 11:44 PM
It's a variant of the common Prickly Pear. The first time I saw one, I would have sworn it was spray painted by a graffitti artist.
If not that, it must have been fabricated from metal. Some of them are gun metal grey.
The color just doesn't jive with an easterner's sense of … (21 comments)
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REALTOR as Trusted Advisor: Get Beyond the Lender Greed Factor - 04/28/08 12:43 PM
Beyond Greedy LendersAre your clients surprised that mortgage interest rates are climbing higher? You can position yourself as a trusted advisor by not parroting the "greed" factor. Instead, become acquainted with specific world events that are causing the trouble. Here are a few things to keep an eye on:
The US Dollar … (10 comments)
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False Advertising and the Bathroom Break - 04/27/08 06:54 AM
Any port in a storm... We were driving through New Mexico last week, and saw the Necessary as we pulled off Interstate 10.
No Key Needed was painted in five inch high letters, but as I got closer, it was apparent that this was indeed, false advertising. LOL
I'm Mike in Tucson, … (23 comments)
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Friday Night Post: Twilight In Tucson, Arizona - 04/26/08 01:38 AM
I don't know which I like better, the fire of a Tucson sunset, or the lovely stillness of the moonrise at twilight, after the sun has disappeared in the western sky. I took these two photos a half hour apart, the first from the parking lot at Gates Pass in the … (32 comments)
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Too Early to Get Comfortable--The Credit Crunch is Still With Us - 04/25/08 04:17 PM
Business has picked up in Tucson, and I'm grateful. My phone rang earlier, though, and the person on the other end was surprised that a loan request had been denied by his bank. He was hoping that as a broker, I could help him.
Because of tightened Fannie Mae guidelines, I couldn't. … (9 comments)
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It's Not What You Have... It's WHAT YOU DO WITH WHAT YOU HAVE That Makes the Difference - 04/24/08 10:31 PM
This photo is the perfect example of that! This is GARBAGE! And it's wonderful!
I ran into an acquaintance who hasn't seen me for more than six months.
She looked sort of sorrowful as she asked "Oh. How have you been doing in this awful market? I know it must be a struggle. … (37 comments)
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The Home Inspector Told the Bank I Needed A New Roof - 04/24/08 12:24 AM
This is why we'll always have a job. The buyer in the FSBO transaction paid for a home inspection.
The home inspector told him that the roof was not economically repairable because of the age of the house, and that he shouldn't put much money into something so old.
I guess the … (18 comments)
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For Newbies Only: Your Camera is Key to Localism Success - 04/23/08 12:06 PM
...for a very simple reason. Visual stimulus is instantaneous. The second you saw that 1915 Ford, your mental thought was interrupted. You stopped. You looked. And now you're reading.
People happen upon Localism posts when they're searching the internet for something else. They're not usually looking for you or your Localism post.
If … (31 comments)
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Microsoft Stalls on Yahoo Purchase. Maybe This Is Why! - 04/23/08 11:12 AM
Sorry for the holdup? Temporary glitch? Come on! Let's talk!
I've never seen this happen on Yahoo. Have you? I tried to upload one of my banks' ratesheets to price a loan, and the message won't upload. Maybe it's time to go to Gmail!
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona mortgage … (15 comments)
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First AZ Blogging Network Get-Together in Gilbert is TOMORROW Morning! - 04/23/08 06:22 AM
Tomorrow. Thursday, April 24th. 9:00 until 10:30, or stay for lunch. Free T-Shirts with embroidered logos! (Okay, I made up that last one. You won't get a tee shirt.)
If you live in Arizona, and you haven't seen this logo floating around Active Rain, you haven't been spending enough time on Active … (8 comments)
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There's No Place Like Home in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert - 04/23/08 12:43 AM
Getting away for ten days does a lot to recharge the batteries, freshen one's outlook, and to minimize the problems that seemed overwhelming just a week ago.
We were in a beautiful area of God's creation--southeastern Oklahoma in the springtime.
Still, the rain across the desert in spring paints the valley floor twenty … (19 comments)
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Homebuilding On A Miniature Scale: A Sure Sign of Spring in Tucson, AZ - 04/23/08 12:29 AM
While we Lenders, Real Estate Agents, Appraisers and Title folk are worrying about the housing market and its effects on our individual economies, there's hope on the horizon.
Hummingbirds have returned to Tucson, Arizona.
Oblivious to the humans around them, they court the opposite sex, settle on a mate, and get down to … (10 comments)
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Photograpy on the Fly: West Texas on the Way to Tucson - 04/21/08 10:23 PM
West Texas, driving home to Tucson.
Keep the shiny side up. That's the main thing on my mind.
West Texas is flat, monotonous, and the Interstate runs a straight line to the horizon.
Except for the rumble strips to keep you awake, what do you do to relieve the boredom?
I take photos. Set the … (22 comments)
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Part 5 of 5 Ranch Photos from Mike in Tucson - 04/19/08 09:57 PM
You're looking at history. The creekbed is solid limestone, a layer geologists call the Goodland layer. It runs through the GlenMar Ranch in Caddo, OK.
My Darlin' and I spent a day together, walking the creek, looking carefully at the limestone beneath our feet. It had just rained the night before, and … (19 comments)
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Part 4 of 5 Ranch Photos from Mike in Tucson - 04/19/08 09:32 PM
No one has written a history of the rock post. They anchor barbed wire fences on most of the ranches in southeastern Oklahoma. This post on your left is a typical rock post along Route 22 between Caddo & Kenefic.
The Colonel isn't a typical rancher. He's made his rock posts into works of … (5 comments)
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Part 3 of 5 Ranch Photos from Mike in Tucson - 04/19/08 09:15 PM
Pastures in Southeastern Oklahoma are full of rocks. Ancient rocks, actually. There's one layer of rock called Kiamichi. Pieces of the layer are laying in the pasture there on your left.
Look closely, and you'll see fossilized oyster shells from way back when. The entire place used to be at the … (9 comments)
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Part 2 of 5 Ranch Photos from Mike in Tucson - 04/19/08 08:48 PM
Southeastern Oklahoma is blooming with color by the beginning of the third week of the month. That's when my Darlin' and I visit GlenMar Ranch in the little town of Caddo, OK.
My friend the Colonel (pronounce that KerNel if you're not a military type) spends many hours during this period … (9 comments)
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From the Ranch in Caddo, OK - 04/16/08 08:38 AM
Haven't seen you for awhile! That might be what she's bawling at me.
We've been having a good old time getting the herd worked. Lots of pictures, and some good posts will come out of this.
Caddo, OK is so small that the main street doesn't have a traffic light.
Local word … (15 comments)
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Part 1 of 5 Ranch Photos from Mike in Tucson - 04/12/08 12:20 AM
We drove 600 miles today--Tucson to Midland TX, so we're half way to Caddo, OK. Since we've been working this herd together for so long, we consider our friends on Glen Mar Ranch to be family.
The hotel has internet access, so I'm blogging. Thanks to all of you for your comments … (22 comments)
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Balance in Life: It's Time for the Annual Roundup in Caddo, OK - 04/11/08 09:20 AM
Mike in Tucson will be less visible on the blogosphere for the next ten days. I'll be working cattle.
"Well, who will you get to help work cattle in the spring?" I put the question to my friends Dick and Olivia in early 1995. Dick, having retired from the Air Force, had decided to … (24 comments)
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Just For (Lenn &) Lenders: Reduced Doc Loans Follow Dodo Bird to Extinction - 04/10/08 08:04 AM
For years, my favorite loan for high FICO borrowers with substantial assets and large down payments has been Suntrust's "Eligible" through Desktop Originator. Fannie Mae gives me its Approve/Eligible, and Suntrust says "regardless of what Fannie says, you do not need to document..."
Before I learned to use DO, Countrywide's Fast and … (13 comments)
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Rebuttal to the Notion that Mortgage Brokers are Redundant in the Banking World - 04/09/08 09:02 AM
The late 70's gentleman who found his way to my office (broker) had been referred by a client. Quiet, principled, churched, and a Rotarian for more than half a decade, he had fallen on hard times when a business venture folded. He had extended credit to his customers, and they had … (28 comments)
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Greenspan on Home Price Stabilization: 2008! - 04/08/08 06:52 AM
Alan Greenspan has taken a lot of heat for believing (and acting on his belief) that bubbles are okay, and that they will sort themselves out. No matter. He's retired.
He still has one of the most acutely perceptive minds in the business, however, and when Alan Greenspan talks, I'll listen. At … (16 comments)
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Two New Active Rain Referrals in One Weekend! - 04/07/08 03:55 PM
If you're young enough to ask the question "What is a broken record?" you'll have to forgive me.
I'm starting to sound like a broken record when I tell you that Active Rain relationships result in real business!
The most recent referral came this weekend, from Kent Simpson. Kent wrote about it yesterday … (84 comments)
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For Newbies Only: How to Avoid "Comment Stuttering" - 04/07/08 07:53 AM
It happens from time to time. Active Rain sends in the bulldozers to tear up a section of road when increased traffic creates a bottleneck.
You can't see the maintenance crew or know that they're working under the lights, around the clock, to install the new, improved roadway.
All you know is that … (32 comments)
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In This Real Estate Market, You Need Deep Roots - 04/05/08 10:22 PM
"Bloom where you're planted." I saw this Barrel Cactus high up on a rock outcropping in the Tortillita mountains.
Not all success comes from being planted in fertile, cultivated soil. The tiny seed that is now this hundred pound giant fell between the rocks.
It found enough wind-blown soil, moisture and shade to … (21 comments)
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Local Expert: Look What You Can Find Under the Bridge! - 04/05/08 09:54 PM
Tucson (rather, greater Tucson) has passed the million mark in terms of human habitation. With that number of people comes a greater requirement for infrastructure. Things like this concrete bridge spanning one of our many arroyos.
Thousands of cars pass over this bridge each day, commuting to work, going to the grocery … (15 comments)
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Firestorm Issue? Arizona Senators, Please Vote YES on SB-1028, Loan Originator Licensing - 04/04/08 12:57 PM
This is the Debating Chamber of the Arizona State Senate. Not every senator--we have 30 State Senators--shows up for every debate or vote.
I want this one to be an exception.
The Political Necessity:
The US Congress is working on a proposal to reform oversight of our nation's financial services industry. One part … (26 comments)
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Good News for Interest Rates: Bloomberg Reports on Jobless Claims - 04/03/08 08:02 AM
By now, you know that Bloomberg is one of my favorite sites for evenhanded financial news reporting. Today's article: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rose 38,000 to 407,000, bodes well for Agents selling and Lenders supporting their buyers. Look for interest rates to improve today.
If you like it, LOCK IT!
I'm Mike in … (17 comments)
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This Fool Started in the Lending Business on April 1, 2003 - 04/01/08 11:46 PM
Today is a milestone. Five years in the lending business. All five here in Tucson, Arizona. I remember telling the processor at my first job that I intended to learn to run my own Desktop Originator with Fannie Mae. "Over my dead body!" was the response. Her name is Cherubina. She didn't … (24 comments)
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