How I Predicted My Brother Would Be a Millionaire: Understanding the Power of Suggestion - 09/25/08 11:09 AM
Something funny happens when you tell people who they are. They BELIEVE you.
The POWER OF SUGGESTION has enormous potential to shape people's lives, and alter their thoughts.
I think the mind must be like the Internet. Once you say something, it is like pressing the publish button. It will live on the hard drive forever. You can never go back and erase it.
And like the Internet, once imprinted on the mind, it is believed without question. Without ever considering the source.
Why is this?
Words are not as fleeting as you think.
Many years ago, my father, the engineer, … (16 comments)

Waiting for the World to Change and Other Refinancing Mistakes - 09/23/08 01:41 PM
We recently caught a rare glimpse of what lies bubbling beneath the surface of this soup we call the MORTGAGE MESS.
They are the SILENT MAJORITY who didn't walk away from their mortgage. They stayed, paid, and prayed.
And guess what? Not only do they WANT to refinance, they just might cause the soup to boil over if they get mad enough.
While many in the mortgage industry are saying "refinances are DEAD", the Silent Majority doesn't agree.
They just don't know how to make it happen so they have remained silent, frustrated and hoping that "the world would change".
… (19 comments)

Real Estate is Local: The Top Ten Reasons To Use A LOCAL Mortgage Broker - 09/18/08 12:51 AM
I wonder how a Seattle Realtor must feel when his buyer breathlessly tells him this: "And I'm pre-approved with a great mortgage broker I found online! IN California".
Does the Realtor fake-smile while secretly knowing he will soon be SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE? Does he attempt to refer the client to a local mortgage professional instead?  Or is it best to shut up and buck up... because after all, you shouldn't interfere with the client's choice of mortgage broker? 
And if real estate really is LOCAL, what is the allure of taking the "LOCAL" part out of the financing end of the transaction, anyway?  Is it because we are trained to believe that EVERYTHING is cheaper/better/ … (42 comments)

Are "TO DO" Lists Outdated? (And Why Do I ROLL OVER Half of My "TO DO's"?) - 09/15/08 01:18 PM
As most of my readers know, Monday is my musing day.
My brain seems to refuse to go into neutral over weekends when I am SUPPOSED to be giving it a rest from Mortgage Madness.
Or could it be that looking out over misty lake with moon rising and glass of wine (at weekend home) opens the mind to thoughts that were LOST in the Madness (at crazy fast paced downtown office)?
Do you have things on your TO DO list that just never get done? Are TO DO lists outdated  anyway?
After all, I haven't taken a time management course … (6 comments)

Brad Andersohn Told Me To GET OVER IT (How Blogging Put Me On the Evening News) - 09/11/08 08:32 PM
Rich, you ask us why we are here on ActiveRain on your featured post of today. Of all the ways I can think of to answer this question, the one I never would have said is this: "For Free Publicity".
You see, while I see the value of free publicity, I didn't start blogging to get noticed by the media.
Here's the truth:  I fight the irresistible urge to place a paper bag over my head when I am asked to be interviewed on camera. It is happening more and more often these days, thanks to my blogging.
When I had … (63 comments)

How We Kicked Self Employed Borrowers to the Curb Along With Stated Income Loans - 09/11/08 12:32 PM
They are the ones that were not satisfied to be corporate hacks, allowing some huge company to dictate where and how they live their lives. They refused to carry a lunch bucket and lay cable for the phone company for 30 years.
Instead, they went after that other American Dream. The one about risking your talent, your money, and your time to OWN YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
This dream is at the very heart of our great nation, and defines why our economy is the greatest one on the planet.
Yet we have kicked business owners to the curb.  We have wrongly … (45 comments)

Is Freddie and Fannie Bailout a Magic Pill? Or a Bitter Pill? (Gulp, Swallow....) - 09/09/08 10:22 AM
As mortgage madness dawned yesterday, it became apparent that our lenders had swallowed 2 giant aspirins over the weekend: The Freddie aspirin and the Fannie aspirin.
They woke up feeling much better.
Now, some might argue any government bailout is a bitter pill to swallow. So please excuse my short term thinking as I revel in the fact this development created some much needed good news in the mortgage world: LOWER RATES.
Yesterday, the office was abuzz as LOWER RATES announcements blew up our in boxes throughout the day. And as all good little mortgage brokers do, we wasted no time. 
… (7 comments)

Should Mortgage Brokers Consider Realtors Their CUSTOMERS? - 09/05/08 10:20 AM
Sometimes you get that jaw dropper comment on one of your posts. You know, the comment that is raw. The one that speaks volumes about our entire industry.
It is something laced with real emotion that spews out like hot lava from a smoldering volcano (that you assumed was dormant).
It is the kind of comment that I live for, because the truth is most often hidden in business communications. Usually we try to stay out of controversial territory.
But not always. The comment:
And do you not consider Realtors your customers, as well? It sure doesn't seem like mortgage brokers … (28 comments)

Top 10 Ways a Realtor Can Help A Loan Close ON TIME - 09/04/08 01:31 PM
 
Of all the things that make Realtors go off the deep end, I know (painfully so) that  late closings come in right at the top of the list.
What happens when the contract is over but the funding lady has yet to sing? Have you ever:
1. Been furious with the mortgage broker?
2. Yelled at the mortgage broker?
3. Thought loan WOULD HAVE closed on time if client had chosen YOUR preferred mortgage broker instead?
4. Been certain that the mortgage broker goofed off instead of paying attention to the loan?
Okay, so maybe you have. But I betcha … (97 comments)