Look up in the sky.... it's a bird, it's a plane, it's Robert D. Ashby.....mortgage planner by day and pilot by night. Okay, sometimes it's the other way around. Robert is a pilot for American Airlines, but he also owns his on mortgage company. And most importantly, Robert Ashby is a Mortgage Planner and not just a loan officer. You might ask what a mortgage planner is?  It's a cross between a loan officer and a financial planner/adviser. 

In any case, I had the pleasure of meeting Robert two Saturdays ago when he e-mailed me that Thursday telling me that he was arriving Friday night and leaving Sunday morning. Robert was one of the first 5 AR members that I started talking to on here when I first joined. That was back in October of '06 and we started talking on the phone by December.  When we first met, even though it was for about 4 hours, I got to know the person behind the flight attire.

So a week later, I get another e-mail from Robert on Saturday, telling me that he will be back in the Philadelphia area on Sunday night, leaving Tuesday morning. So I decided to meet up with him for a few hours on Sunday evening and for part of Monday. Robert is the one in the black jacket with cap. He brought along his co-pilot, George, who is also a Colonel in the reserves.

Overall, we had a great time. We first went to Moriarty's Restaurant/Irish Pub for a few drinks. Then down the street for a quick bite and then onto a few other places. The more I hung out with Robert, the more we had a lot in common, especially when it came to the mortgage business. Not only is Robert just a good, down to earth guy, but he really goes the extra mile in not only giving his clients options, but that he cares about them and their finances. You don't find that in every loan originator in this business. I just wanted to say, it was great to meet a true mortgage professional as myself. Looking forward to it again Robert.....

If you want to get to know more about Robert Ashby's style, here are two great reads. The first one has to be one of the best written mortgage blogs ever posted on Active Rain and I am not the only one that agrees with this.

• Mortgage Transparency Kills Mortgage Service: Will the Mortgage Industry's Commoditization Follow That of the Airlines?

And here are two more reasons why Robert Ashby is on top of his game and more people should listen to him. Take the serious time to read these, because more people need to think like this.  Please read :

• Would You Rather Spend $6 to Save $4 or Spend $4 to Earn $6?

• Equity Harvesting, Money Merge Accounts and the Benefits of Using Both

On another note, if you know this person, tell him that he missed out on a good time. Jason Sardi was going to try and meet us out Monday night, but he said that he was working hard.  I am not sure if the Cayman Islands can be classified as work, but we'll just chuck it up to Jason missing a great person from the mortgage industry. Jason, next time my friend. I hope the Caymans, aka work, was worth it. 

Members that I have met from Active Rain :

1. My 1st Active Rain meeting with an AR member..... Rob who?????
2. Lunch with Ravi Shah......
3. West meets East....... a face to face with Jonathan Vetter, loan officer.
4. Active Rain gathering in Philadelphia -- A Success !!!
5. NYC - Bloggers Connect - Friends & new acquaintances !!!!!!
6. Want to meet a Pilot aka Mortgage Planner? --- Meet Robert Ashby