Hi there! How are you? I was curious how all of you are doing. How's your year shaping up? I'll start.

I changed companies to The Legacy Group at the beginning of the year. I only knew one person there and not well. He and I just have similar thoughts and beliefs. Little did I know that one little decision would keep me going. 2008 was not great for me. I worked for a small net branch and had virtually no support. I remember sitting down with a good friend of mine (she's a financial advisor) and saying 2009 was a "make or break year". She too had a rough 2008.

The "make or break" part worked. We both rolled up our sleeves and went to work. Now, we're almost done with the year and it's been a good one. I think I still have a pulse and am not on life support! What made the difference? I think we all need to be real whatever our situation is.

If your head's not in the game, figure out how to get back into it. Or get out. For me, I take one day at a time and make sure I get the necessary exercise, rest, food to keep me going. It sounds like a simple formula but, honestly, there are days where I want to pack it all in. Let's face it. Our jobs are tough sometimes. We work hard for nothing; often for days at a time. Occasionally I think about how nice it would be to draw a salary.

Then I remind myself how much I love what I do. I take great comfort that I work for a fabulous company that wants me to succeed. That and the wonderful relationships I've built since being in the business. Today I woke up feeling less than stellar (I have seasonal allergies. Plus, it rained all night-the Pacific Northwest can get kind of gloomy this time of year). What helped? Writing this blog post and connecting with you.

So tell me how you're really doing. Is there a pulse or are you on life support? We are a great support system here. I'm pulling for you and wish you well! Have a great day!

Good morning! We're in for a wet and windy one today. Batten down the hatches!

I was reading Rich Jacobsen's post about having a Facebook Fan Page among other things and thought I'd comment here. First of all, I do have a Facebook Fan Page. So far, I have 5 fans. If you'd like to be a fan, go to The Legacy Group and add yourself. Thanks if you do.

So how do I feel about Facebook Fan Pages, etc.? To me, the jury is still out. Perhaps I'm just not that technically oriented. Sure, I know people who derive their business from having a killer website, endless Twitter tweets, and a killer blog. And I do think it's important to know about this stuff. Social media is here to stay. With my limited technical skills, I try.

But the greater benefit to me has been the building of great relationships online and, hopefully my reputation. So, I'm curious. What have you seen by having a Facebook Fan Page, etc? Have people found you and done business with you? What do you think has been the net benefit?

Facebook Fan Pages? Again, mine is The Legacy Group. Let me know what yours is. This is an experiment. I want to believe in social media and the power it has. And I will keep trying by blogging, etc. But it's difficult to ignore the tried and true methods of building and working within your database and those great face-to-face interactions.

Thanks for reading this. Again, and since I'm a shameless self-promoter, follow me if you like. And let me know what your Facebook Fan Page is. I'll follow you! Take care.

Good morning all: How are you? It's another cold but beautiful morning here in Seattle. Snow has already fallen and people are skiing! Get excited. I was thinking about Stimuli this morning and if they work.

First of all, a definition: Here is the definition of stimulus. Stimuli is the plural version because there are so many at work right now. Stimulus is defined as "an agent, action, or condition that elicits or accelerates a physiological or psychological activity or response".

Why am I writing this? With the never seen before economic downturn and the government's answer to try and stimulate our economy, I wanted you to weigh in. This is by no means meant as a political rant. In fact, I abhor most things political. But I'm also a free market guy who has to wonder.

Let's start with our own personal favorite, the $8000 first-time homebuyer tax credit which was just extended. I was talking with a realtor yesterday and he asked me how many deals I had done because of it. I told him two so far with a third that will probably close next month. What are you seeing? Have you closed a lot of deals because of the homebuyer stimulus? If so, I'd like to hear about it. For me, it really hasn't helped that much.

I have to wonder what would have happened if there weren't so many stimuli in place right now. How will this work in the future? Are we in fact mortgaging it? Is the first-time homebuyer tax credit, health care bill, government bailout of our financial institutions, etc. etc. working? Some of you may argue we need more time to see the results. But if you look at the definition of stimulus above, it makes me wonder. Have we elicited a physiological or psychological response? Again, I'm not so sure!

As you can see, this is a little deeper post than normal. Sorry about that. But the numbers don't lie. Greater and greater deficits and people in our business having challenging years with no quick turnaround. Again, I invite your thoughts. Stimuli. Do they work? Have a great weekend!

Good morning all: It occurred to me yesterday that social media is invading our lives, mine included. It's a little bit addicting. All the tweets, posts, friend requests, and podcasts can be overwhelming at times.

So why do I participate? I feel like I have to be aware of a trend. I've recently seen the growth of social media in a short video. Have you? If not, it can probably be Googled. I was at a seminar recently talking with the President of a growing company here in the Seattle area. One of their sweet spots is teaching companies how to use social media internally. His comment to me about social media is it allows us to build relationships quicker than ever before. That made a lot of sense to me. I will say this. I've managed to build my Linkedin contacts to over 500 now and have several hundred friends on Facebook.

It's interesting how people can stalk you through your tweets and posts. I always thought stalking had negative connotations. But online it may actually be a blessing!

So how do you get started if you've never been online before? My first piece of advice is don't rush it. Heck, I'd be the first to admit that I'm not a rocket scientist when it comes to blogging, etc. In fact, it may not be for you. But keep an open mind. Start small if you start at all and keep your efforts to a few things (try Twitter and Facebook, for example).

For those of you in the big time online, I'd like to hear from you. What has that meant to you and your business? Thanks for reading about tweets, posts, friend requests, and podcasts. If there's anything I can help you with, you can contact me here. Have a great day!

I am re-blogging my fellow Rainer Amy's thoughts as I feel this should be driving us all. In the meantime, I suggest you all get a copy of "The Go Giver". It's all about giving! Have a great day!

Hi all: I'm reminded of the advice to post on the specific area where you live, work, etc. For me, that would be Bellevue, WA.

I've lived in the Puget Sound (Seattle area) region for over 30 years now. In that time, I've watched Bellevue grow from a sleepy bedroom community with an outdoor mall (Bellevue Square) into a full fledged powerhouse replete with skycrapers and national retailers.

Bellevue used to be a city where the lights turned out at 5:30. Yes, people worked downtown but they lived elsewhere and went home to their families. Great restaurants were started and died on the vine 15 years ago.

What started the renaissance from sleepy to vibrant city? I think it started with Bellevue Square and it's expansion. All of a sudden major national retailers wanted to locate to downtown Bellevue. The second expansion of Bellevue Square in the last few years brought restaurants such as Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and P.F. Changs to name a couple.

What spawned after the most recent expansion of Bellevue Square was the building of Lincoln Square across the street which is full of retailers and restaurants as well. Lincoln Square also included a Westin Hotel and condo's for people wanting to live downtown.

So much of Bellevue's success has to be attributed to Kemper Freeman, the developer and owner of much of downtown Bellevue. Mr. Freeman had a vision and, so far, it's paid off. In this area, Bellevue rivals any city in America for it's access to shopping and entertainment.

The transformation of Bellevue within the last few years has been amazing. Now, people work, eat and live downtown. Major corporations such as Microsoft and Expedia have moved part of their employees to downtown Bellevue. Nieman Marcus just opened this Fall and there are a myriad of fine dining choices and Happy Hours to choose from.

The future of Bellevue looks bright. If you haven't visited recently, come see what's up. Thanks for reading! Have a great day!

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Hi all: Good afternoon! I was thinking about blogging this morning. This was after attending a seminar last night on SEO related stuff. The so-called expert recommended that we not write articles that are displayed on other people's websites ( In this case the site was a local one, Biznik, but it could just as easily apply to Active Rain). His point was that we have no control and its much easier to set up our own blog on Wordpress, etc.. I've heard this argument before.

I love being here on Active Rain. To me, it's about more than blogging; it's about building long-term relationships and learning. That being said, I also love to write. I would imagine most of the prolific bloggers here do as well.

So should a person blog or not? I don't think it's for everyone. Personally, if you don't enjoy writing or can't string two sentences together, it might not be worth it. The information you're putting out there in cyberspace needs to be concise and well written in my opinion. If you're going to blog, take the time to not only spellcheck (there's one here) but make sure it's grammatically correct. I know this sounds pretentious but, again, I think it's important that what you put out there reflects your knowledge. Part of that is being aware of correct sentence structure and spelling. Mind you this can be learned.

Again, I think it's important that we embrace new ideas and technology. I've read so many success stories here about Rainers' blogs working. I encourage you to give it a try if you haven't already. After all, you never know who might be reading! Have a fantastic day!

Good morning all! Yesterday I sat through an afternoon session on the new RESPA which will be implemented on January 2, 2010. Not my idea of a fun afternoon!

Here are my thoughts. One, I've noticed a lot of people seem to overreact about the changes in our industry. Case in point: The HVCC laws that were implemented May 1 of this year. Yes, we could no longer choose our favorite appraiser and values are occasionally coming in lower. But I've also seen a majority of reports come in fine and actually much quicker than before.

So what about the new RESPA changes to the Good Faith Estimate? The GFE will now be three pages long and there are a number of tolerance levels that are allowed. The big one that has zero tolerance is the interest rate cannot change from the Good Faith Estimate unless a new GFE is provided (re-disclosed). My company already does this anyway. The other big thing I noticed is that YSP must not only be disclosed (this has been enforced by wholesale lenders for a while now) but the borrower is paid this and then needs to pay the loan officer.

I'm sure there will be complaints about these new guidelines. Personally, I started in the mortgage business 3 1/2 years ago and have seen it all. I know we'll weather this storm as well. For those mortgage brokers out there who rely on YSP and hiding their pay, changing terms, etc., the gig is up. My boss commented that this may mean the end of the broker. I'm not so sure but will say this. As with anything it pays to be upfront. Disclose to your clients how you do business and how you get paid and there shouldn't be a problem. Ultimately, we're in the trust business. Our clients believe what we say. Shame on those who abuse the privilege. Thanks for reading! For more information on the new RESPA changes you are welcome to contact me. Have a wonderful day!

Good morning all! I hope you're well. I decided to work from home today. I've been fortunate since the first of the year because I have such tremendous support from my company. In fact, I haven't worked from home this much in years.

Granted, my drive to Bellevue is 30 miles one way. This can take a minimum of 45 minutes and is often tiring. I also have the luxury of being all by myself most of the time. My wife works and the kids are grown and gone. How does working from home work for you?

I think the key is to minimize distractions. I could see how it might be difficult if you still have kids at home, for example. I also try and break up my day and get out of the house. Today I'll probably work out this morning and then come back and make phone calls, send emails, etc. This evening I'm meeting a couple buddies for a beer in Renton.

How often do you work from home? I keep hearing about the dawn of the virtual office. Personally, I like to have my cake and eat it too! Most of the time I head into out corporate office (probably 4 out of the 5 days a week I work). I find the camaraderie and support to be helpful.

But there are days where I just don't feel like being around the noise and chaos no matter how positive it might be. That's when I opt to work from home. So tell me your story. How productive are you working from home? I think if a person is disciplined enough it can work great. Have a fantastic day!

Hi again: Last night I attended The Vestus Group's presentation on buying real estate at auction or on the courthouse steps. These guys have it together. If you're local, you can attend their free presentation every Tuesday night at 5:30 at the Windermere Real Estate offices at Yarrow Point.

Again, I'm very impressed with how organized this group is. They've been in business since 2002 and have managed to buy and sell thousands of properties for their clients in this span. The key is they do their homework. Last night there were probably thirty people there hearing the story. Most were investors although there were also realtors and builders in the audience. I had two people who came and are interested.

So how does buying at auction work? Whether you do it yourself or hire a firm such as The Vestus Group (you pay them 3% in addition to the other real estate charges), it's important to be prepared and learn if it's right for you.

Some statistics were thrown out last night. Every week over 1,200 homes in the tri-county (King, Snohomish, Pierce) region are slated for auction. Of these 1,200 about 30% are actually auctioned off. The rest are saved by loan modifications, catching up on payments, bankruptcy, or selling the property. Buying at auction can be done often for 65-70 cents on the dollar. This is usually better than buying a short-sale (typically closer to 75 cents) or bank-owned (usually 85 cents) home.

What's the catch with buying at auction? You need to pay cash. Vestus Group has a great program where you can borrow the money short term (if need be) and then refinance into a longer term mortgage down the road. As with anything, there are risks involved. All the more reason to have professionals help you out. Sure, the costs may be higher but will you really care if you get that screaming deal that you can either rent and cash flow positively or flip for a big profit?

I'm planning on heading back to The Vestus Group's Thursday presentation. And I'm bringing a couple realtors with me. I think buying at auction is a tremendous opportunity right now and I want to spread the word! Again, thanks for reading.