Jeff Belonger honored me by asking me to write this week's Mortgage Pro Week In Review.
This assignment takes me back to Mr. Hamilton's 10th grade English class.
Mr. Hamilton, was in his mid 60's, with thinning, long, gray-peppered hair. He had black horn-rimmed Ernie Douglas eye-glasses.
Mr. Hamilton wore a "uniform" every day. Crisp white shirt, firmly starched, sleeves rolled. Black tie loosely knotted. Black slacks flared and flooded. White socks that peaked when he walked. Black worn shoes.
He was a disheveled hyper genius. He would run all over the room flailing his arms to make his point, and he loved creative writing. He was my favorite educator of all my scholastic years. I learned so much from him.
He wasn't my favorite teacher growing up. He will never compare with the beautiful, stunning, green-eyed, wavy auburn-haired Mrs. Gunderson.
Mrs. Gunderson was my fifth-grade homeroom teacher. She wore short, red mini-skirts, low-cut white knit sweaters that were too tight, and lofty outfit-matching heels, at the same precise moment in time that I was starting to pay attention to girls.
I can't tell you one thing I learned from Mrs. Gunderson in fifth grade.
Wait she did me one thing. Mrs. Gunderson taught me and many other boys that year that the deadly prospect of "coodies" from girls was nowhere near as horrific as how warm they could make you feel inside.
She was the coodie-killer. I would never fear them again.
Mr. Hamilton loved giving creative writing assignments. He taught us that a great writer could make the most boring subjects interesting. To make this point he gave us an assignment to write 200 words about the alphabet.
Not the history of the alphabet, but rather the story of "A," "B," "C," and so on...through "Z."
As each student read their prose, Mr. Hamilton's point was made clear. Even the alphabet could be made interesting through the pen of a great storyteller.
I think about Mr. Hamilton every time I read a great mortgage post on ActiveRain.
Can there be a subject more boring than mortgages? Seriously. ARM's, rates, the Fed, Bernanke, Margins, Indexes, Fannie, Freddie, VA, FHA.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
That is why I am exciting to be asked to write this week's review of the best, most compelling mortgage postings. It's only my opinion and you may be surprised by some of my selections.
On behalf of the memory of Mr. Hamilton, all of these mortgage storytellers get an "A" for the week.
Mortgage Pro Week in Review -- 05/12/08 through 05/18/08
Prayer Request for Me and My Family Don Draughn is asking for your prayers as he moves his family and his business to a new state to be with his elderly, ailing parents in their time of need. I am not a deeply religious person. I have always felt my spiritually from within. However, I have tremendous respect for others and their faith. Don, I admire your courage and commitment to family and I hope it all works out for you. You can count on my prayers!!
Six Steps Originators Can Take To Thrive on Active Rain Without Writing A Blog Post Brian Brady gives you great marketing tips that are so incredibly easy to implement you will wish he didn't share them with the other 11,000 loan originators on ActiveRain. Brian needs to get out of the crazy business, where his talents are truly wasted, and start a Mortgage Coaching company Brian, sign me up at the discounted friend's rate of $499 for the first live seminar in San Diego.
The Home Ownership Roundtable will Save You From That ARM Loan! Darren Orshoff is crazy....crazy like a chicken!! You have to see this to believe it. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Active Rain goes American Idol with a crazy chicken dance and original lyrics. Check out Darren's daughter in the background. Darren didn't even realize she was there. I hope this works, Darren. That song will be in my head all week. "Call, Don't be a Chicken!! Cluck! Cluck!!"
So you think you are a smart shopper? Jason Sardi has immense talent as a writer. He skillfully challenges the first question every lender is asked on the very first call from a borrower, "what's the rate today?" Experienced lenders, like Jason, understand this question makes the borrower feel smart but the answer is a test to truly show how bright your lender actually is.
Will Do Mortgage Loans For Food (Yes, This Is Me) Melissa Breeland proves that a picture says 1,000 words. This picture, from seven years ago, reminds us all to "think outside the box" when it comes to marketing.
Finding Balance and My Motivation Tom Elder keeps it simple, sweet and very sincere. I remember the day I made the same decision as you Tom. Family over four hours of sleep. It's a much better life.
The Wedding Ring Question Justin Williams poses an interesting, thought-provoking question. I have been in real estate since 1994 and, obviously, have noticed all of the sexy pictures that agents and loan officers have on their cards and ads, but I never looked at the wedding rings. Let's face it. Sex, like in all sales industries, sells in real estate too.
Obama May Have A New Middle Name_Infanticide Bill Burress is asking you to join his crusade as he tries to destroy "The Monster" Barack Obama's campaign for President. In a "member's only" post, Bill attacks the Senator for his stance on a woman's right-to-choose as well as his middle name, Hussein. One of the best things about being asked to write Week in Review is you get a chance to read nearly every single blog written that week. I have been here a year and had no idea there were political rants that have nothing to with real estate on AR. Although I don't agree with all of Bill's political views, my only challenge with it is that he when he posts politically he does so "member's only." If you are going to blog politically on a real estate network, why not share these spirited discussions with the public? And if you can't share with the public, for whatever reason, in my opinion, the post belongs on a political network, not a real estate network. This post makes my list because, even though I disagree with it's content about the Supreme Court's 35-year interpretation of the 14th Amendment and its protection of a woman's right to choose, I firmly believe in freedom of speech, as protected by the First Amendment. Bill, you can put me down as one of those "irrational people" contemplating a vote for that "monster," also known as the United States Senator from Illinois. For me, it's about the economy, health care, the housing market, and the war on terror. McCain and Obama will both get a long hard serious look from me on these four issues before I decide. And I am not afraid to say it in a public post.
Has The American Dream Been Poisoned? Janet Guilbault and I are in the mutual admiration society. What makes AR so great for me is that real estate pros get a chance to blow off some creative steam and show our writing skills. And Janet may be the best here. Who else could turn renting her daughter's home into a thought-provoking blog about the end of the dream of homeownership? Janet should really take a month off, travel somewhere off-the-beaten-path, deep in the jungles of South America, and crank out a novel. I would want to read the first print and there are about 90,000 other Rainers who would do the same.
An Open Letter to the Consumer - Show me a little respect Jeff Belonger reminds us of the importance of the timing of the good faith estimate. Jeff is so good at what he does, 40% of my business is FHA today but I would want him to do my own FHA loan. Jeff stays focused in a business where it's nearly impossible to do so. FHA, FHA, FHA, FHA. The program is like 100 years old. Until four months ago, no one wanted it. It comes with mortgage insurance even with 20% down. The loan limits were like $15,000. $25,000 in Los Angeles. Yet, Jeff stayed with it. And guess what? Today we live in an FHA world, he makes it interesting, and we all need to read Jeff each week to teach us what we need to know.
Just How Sleazy Was the Subprime Market? Karen George gives a strongly-worded, opinionated view of the sleazy, subprime market. Look at the picture of ad closely. Ironically it looks like an old-time horror movie poster. Reading this post gave me a sickening feeling in the deepest pit of my stomach. How is the world did we let this happen? It was so obviously destined for failure. I am embarrassed that I ever sold these products. Is there a Lender's Anonymous we can go to and get cleansed??
Anatomy of a foreclosure Barbara S. Duncan is not a lender. However she writes about a young man seeking a loan in Arkansas. Unfortunately, this story should be unique but its not. In fact, it's a common story that could be written be nearly every agent on Active Rain. After you are done reading Barbara, read Rey below and what we face today will all make sense.
Welcome to a Full Doc World Rey Gallegos teaches us how to cope in this new strange world of long ago where loan originators, processors and underwriters really have to work hard to make a loan fly. It takes a very strong, knowledgeable loan originator to succeed in today's lending climate. I work with him everyday and Rey has that strength.
Thanks for the opportunity to do Week in Review, Jeff!!
The next members for the Mortgage Pro Week in Review :
1. Matthew J Blum 05/19/2008 through 05/25/2008
2. Brian Brady 05/26/2008 through 06/01/2008
3. Joey Aszterbaum 06/02/2008 through 06/08/2008
Mortgage blogs by loan officers Here is a list of Loan Officers. If you are not listed, please email Jeff Belonger to be added. This way the person doing the Mortgage Pro week in review can try and find most mortgage related posts in one section. ActiveRain is growing rapidly and it is difficult to keep up.... If you think you have been ignored, you have not. This is open to all!!!
All About Mortgages/Mortgage Networking Here is a group that many loan officers post their mortgage related blogs in. A good place to learn more about the type of programs, new industry news, and sometimes some inside tips. Don't hesitate to join.
MORTGAGE PRO Week in Review A repository for the Mortgage Week in Review. Please don't hesitate in joining this group. And any volunteers for the mortgage week in review, please e-mail Jeff Belonger at jbelonger@ihmci.com
There will be no recreations of any type regarding the titles or content of this group or Review without the permission and expressed written consent of the Group's founder- Copyright 2008©
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