"How To Get Rich In This Market"

I’m thanking God it is Friday. This week has so drained my energy. I’m looking forward to it being revitalized by family, friends and church this weekend. I will not be taking any business related calls this weekend, because I desperately need to recharge. Have you ever felt like that?

A “funny” thing happened this week, though. In the heat of trying to prod government and major bank employees along to get a first time home buyer’s transaction closed before their extended closing date passed us by, I inadvertently addressed a fiery e-mail to the previous CEO of Carteret Mortgage, one of our nation's largest mortgage brokerage until they closed down with the rapid disintegration of the mortgage industry. I can’t tell you how this “divine intervention” “coincidence” - whatever you wish to label this experience – did to help take my focus off an imploding file, taking me out of battle mode for a few moments so I could contemplate how the myriad of changes we’ve been facing in the mortgage industry have effected this gentleman, Mr. Eric Weinstein (not Everlyn Williams, whom the e-mail was intended for! :->).

The dialog between Eric Weinstein and I went back and forth a bit, but here is an article by Eric Weinstein, formerly CEO of Carteret Mortgage, that I found soothing in this crazy week:

“How to get rich in this market” by Eric Weinstein

“I must say, as the former owner of one of the largest mortgage brokers in the country, I have a new found respect for all the crap my loan officers must have gone through when I was at the top making policy at Carteret Mortgage. Literally, four of my last 5 borrowers in the last two weeks did not qualify where less than a year ago, they were golden. I never had these problems when I was taking loan apps fifteen years ago, typing the 1003 on my trusty Smith-Corona and using some sort of “special machine” to run my credit reports. You old timers, like me, will remember the days before LP, before anyone had an LOS that merged the liabilities into the second page and when basically anyone breathing qualified for a loan.

So here I am, a time traveler thrown back fifteen years, to when I was a loan officer just starting out in the business. Back then, all we had was agency and government loans, just like to day. At least we had MI back then. Yes, technology has made inputting the loan faster, but now we have to worry about appraisal reviews and ever changing guidelines.

What I am saying is…”It’s always something.” The market is tough now, but hey, old timers like us have been through stuff like this before. The market is bad, then it’s good, then it’s bad again Underwriting is hard, then it’s easy, then it’s hard again.  Life sucks, then you are on top of the world and then it sucks again. So what is the secret to being rich in this crazy market?

I love the bumper sticker “He, who dies with the most toys … is STILL DEAD.” The best way to get rich in this market is to count your blessings, Realize you still have your health, your family and you are still breathing on this earth. Life is the greatest gift and if you are reading this, there is a good chance you are not dead yet. Rejoice at just being alive and the rest is just the price you pay for the privilege. Right now, you are the richest person at the cemetery. So, just say a little” thank you”, and get back to work.”

Eric – thank you! I’m counting my blessings…and getting rich!

See you out there!