Real Estate Financing...

  Either you watch or you lead........Rest or Live.

When it comes down to it, I've rested way too freaking long!  But, that is personal.  So I write this because IT doesn't get more personal than this (well it does, but I see no need to bring my Father's Hemorrhoid Issue into this).

My bills are paid but my agenda is paycheck to paycheck.  I'm not inherently a Wall-Street guy or gal, yet I see the angst and feel the economic pain.  Mr Gump was right, "Money is one less thing to worry about in Life."

This is a taboo subject for many, for various reasons and motives.  Overtly successful individuals (financially speaking), rarely want to be involved with those who speak from the other side.  I've been on both sides...to an extent.  Bottom line, how does one change their position and status?

To my awakening, it's not simple and there is no short-cut....outside of luck.  It's going to take work, more than we've ever put in.  It's going to take passion, more than we have ever drummed up.  It will also entail discipline, more than we've ever known.

And all this fighting and bantering and debating and discussion, revolves around one little thing we need to understand.  That's money.  Either we understand it, or let it consume us. 

Take it from a Mortgage Guy, I look at your info and financial background, and whether I be a direct lender or not....I wouldn't loan you money.  Though, a year ago, I probably could of gotten it for you.  Problem is, money is a strange habit.  Greed is a strange creature.  Common sense & Humanity are much harder to understand.  I missed out on the whole 'Greed' angle of life these past 31 years, I hope I didn't make my living off of your demise.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I didn't.

The world brought us many things and we have left our own imprints in the sand along the way.  Some of us are more grateful than others, or so we like to say.  Life and survival are about evolving, it's about time WE do.....BOTH!  Am I talking to me or am I talking to you....or am I talking to both?  Perhaps I'm talking to neither, but that is the schizophrenic in me....

I just give thanks because there is a beat in my heart. In times of survival....that's all any of us really need.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving To Whomever May Be Reading, I shall leave with one visual in my mind...

Be Patient & Smile...

I know what is going on.....

I had a coined saying years ago, actually it was a self-inflicted nickname of sorts.  That name was, "Master of the Obvious."  It reminds me of what I'm seeing, hearing, and feeling.  Is it getting brutal yet?  Are you ready to quit something you once thought of as a career?  Before you do, I think you may want to read further...

The Economy is something I am by no means an expert on.  But I do have what some may call a, 'Birds Eye View'...of the system it works for and under.  That said, more money won't solve this...WE will.  And I mean that collectively.

In kindergarten I learned to share.  Shortly thereafter, I learned to work together.  I don't always like those concepts, but it seems they can be an awesome team.  When utilizing those things, it's hard to go wrong. I don't care about the media, I don't care about perceived predictions of where the market is going or even where it is at.  Survival belongs to the fittest.  I just hope the 'fittest' happens to be looking out for everybody else.  And I hope the good ones survive and thrive.

Yet, if you want my version....which if you are still reading you deserve just that.  I read what I thought was a very cool post by Brett Young the other day.  Brett was so on the mark and made me think of how WE can help change a whole heck of a lot of what is going on.
 

• While I'd love to see the prices of homes in certain areas drop, I'd love to see the wage paid to workers go up even remotely close to the increasing cost of housing & the Real Estate Taxes associated with being a homeowner.
• It would be very nice if it didn't cost me more to drive to and from work than I could make in a day.  Maybe I should make more money, though there is nothing wrong with Gas Prices going down a bit.  God forbid those that have to heat their homes via Oil......
• Bottom line, the cost of living has gone up sooooo much more than the income earned to deal with it.  Think about it, I'm not one to over-explain the obvious.....if it costs so much more to live but the income doesn't follow...it becomes a bit of problem.  That doesn't take an Economic Degree to figure out, it takes a Common Sense way of thinking.

So, our role is very simple in my mind.  This is a brilliantly thought of idea and I truly want everyone to be prepared in trying to implement it....it's all about one word.  EDUCATION!!!  It starts, but doesn't end with our schools.  The basics are born in Kindergarten & Elementary School and evolve into High-School....after-all, when did you first receive your first credit card offer?  It's worth repeating, you want to claim to teach us about the Real-World.....DO IT!  I pay school taxes and don't have any kids, I don't mind though.  It's my civil duty to do so, and their (Those with our tax dollars in their unmoisturized little hands) duty to listen....I want to make sure the taxes I'm paying are going to the right places...it is our earned money after-all.  So, to all you politicians and parents and capitalistic predators, I ask you simply one question.  Do for us now what makes sense for the future, teach us about living Capitalism, since that is the world in which we live here in America...please?  Life & Real Estate is all about learning, all about blood....all about bruises.  It's time to deal with pain by preventing it in the first place.  I don't mind paying dues but there is no virtue in ignorant poverty.  Prevention is akin to Education, it's a way to make sure the bumps and bruises are held to a staunch minimum, while we travel the way of the next phase of how to make this Mad World make some semblance of sense.


It's time to ignore the B.S. of this life and party like there is no tomorrow.  If you've read this far, here you freaking go!!!

I'll tell you right now what I learned about most on this forum.  I learned about myself.  It took a good spanking at times, it took some reading.  It took some wise souls to let me in on what this life is about.....

Life is about turning your head and recognizing....Eye to Eye....whether you will be the cure, or the disease.  There's no in between, at least for me.  Life has been lived way before I was born and probably much later than when I die.  As I peer over my shoulder and out the window, I see flurries of snow scrambling to the ground.  Yet, here I sit.  I'm warm, I'm cozy, I'm content....for now.  Life is a mysterious little player though...

The Real Estate Business is much the same, what did you dream about when you grew up?  For me, I wasn't dreaming about financing houses....I was thinking about finding a place to call home once I left the nest.  My dream was to help others live out their dreams and find myself along my merry little way.  I just wasn't quite sure how I was going to go about doing that.

A couple of weeks back, I looked a colleague in his eyes and simply said, "This is Surreal."  Of course his retort was, "What do you mean?"  What I meant and mean is pretty simple.  We have earned and been bestowed the honor to help others in achieving the American Dream, buying a home.  We drive the economy.  The Mortgage Industry always will.  It is incumbent upon us to do our very best to ensure we make the world a better place by doing our jobs right, ethically, & to the best of our ability.  It is incumbent upon us to help make dreams come true.

Often times I look around Active-Rain and I see some of the best & the brightest in the biz.  It makes me proud to even be a small part of it all.  While darkness lurks around any corner of life, you can't ignore all that is right in this world and Active Rain.

While there is no manual I've read about Life or Real Estate, I do believe there is something we should all realize when passing through.  There is going to be a heck of a lot on your plate, I hope you're hungry.  And at night, when laying your head and bones to rest, your eyes will shut ...

It's time to open them, and live the dream.

I want to shout to the Gods & the Crowds amongst me....my amigo is married!  Bill Engleman is freaking married!!!

Before you get married or after you do...you may want to check this out....

I've never been married, never took that step.  There is no advice I could give you Bill or Jill that would rationally make sense.  Yet, there is a very crucial point I'd like to make.

As a wallflower, a stag guy in a wedding, I saw something I often see.  And I saw it beneath my own eyelids.  As I was sitting in the corner, ignoring the world while trying to understand it, I looked again beyond me.  Ladies & Gents, I cried.   A tear or two dropped from my eye.   And you know why?  I cried because I saw people happy, living their dream, reaching their pinnacle.  To you, Bill & Jill, I teared up because I felt it odd that I cried while other people smiled.  I saw both of you happy and for one moment in time, all the world's worries went away.  Somebody Got Married for sure....

Congrats Bill & Jill!!!

When It Hits Home..... 

Boy meets house.

Boy buys house.

Boy gets a good deal.

Yet, as with anything truly ironic, boy lacks the capacity to fix things.  Boy's mechanical fortitude is akin to spitting into the wind, shooting pool with a rope.

Boy clogs sink.

Boy tries Drano.

Boy sees no results.

I dialed the digits of one of my best friends from High-School, who is a plumber.  He gave me the down low on how to solve the problem, without a Professional Solution.

Boy plunges until he is involved in a deep sweat.

Boy pours boiling water down the drain.

Boy still sees clogged sink.

It's time for the Gel, the Drano Gel.  My father recommended it, and it was echoed by various other sources that were asked.  I did the deed, enforced the Gel, and gave it more than the time allotted to do the trick.  The Gel didn't do the trick, time for Plan C....Bring Out The Snake!

Boy utilizes Snake.

Boy feels Snake not slithering enough.

Boy loses faith in humanity and his own ability to solve a Plumbing Issue.

There is one last shot, I get Crystals from a Plumbing Retail Outlet for Emergency purposes.  This would be an emergency, I haven't had a functioning sink for a week since the manure hit the fan with it.  Bob Villa would be vastly under-impressed with my ability to repair anything that went wrong with a home.  To Bob Villa I say, "Villa La Sardi."  Or in laymen's terms, we'll see what happens.

Boy follows directions

Boy uses crystals.

Boy finds that sink is still clogged, operation stagnant!

The point of all this is simple.  Buying a home is a grand way to be on your way to a better financial life.  However, it is vital you have what us in the Real Estate Industry call (Reserves) just in case.  In case something goes wrong and you can't fix it, in case something is missing and you can't replace it, if you have no money in the bank...that's an issue after closing I hope WE prepared you for.  Home-ownership is a priviledge and stauch reality, it's an investment in the roof over your head.  Utilize it wisely and make sure the parties around you are looking out for your best interests both now and down the road.  As far me goes...I'm going to call one of these guys.....

Before all the hoop-la of the Sub-prime Market Meltdown & Lenders here and there going out of business, getting loans for a client was all too easy on most occasions.  In recent months, a shift has occurred and now we are back to a Market more similar to that of 6 to 7 years ago.  While the Sub-prime market has drastically changed, conforming loans for those with good credit remain the same.  Still though, the Market has changed.  Let's look at some of the things that have come about:

• Some areas have actually seen depreciated home values, others are now stagnant.
• Appraisals are being combed over with a fine tooth comb to make sure the worth of the collateral is tight and unwaveringly acceptable to the Lender.
• More than ever, ALL Mortgage Professionals have to put together each loan file as tight and as efficient as possible.  The days of 'Throwing it against the wall and see if it sticks' are over.
• The Media, in all their glory, created so much overly negative press about the Market and the Real Estate Professionals involved in it, that it has led many individuals to think it is a bad time to buy a home.  It has also led those who already own a home to shy away from acting on refinancing at all, thinking they can't qualify or that rates are too high.  I'll chime in on the rate thing once again.  If you think a 6% rate on a 30 year Mortgages is high, you may just be a renter for life or a less than financially savvy homeowner.
• The shrinkage of the Sub-prime Market has narrowed the pool of Lenders and the guidelines have become more stringent for those whose credit, property type, etc are outside of the norm.  The purse strings are tighter now than they have been for some time.

So, what does this mean for Consumers AND Real Estate Professionals?  Quite simply, it changes the way the Mortgage Application Process is handled.

It used to be that you go through the application, begin processing the loan, and set up closing.  Almost every Mortgage Application that was taken would be bought by some Lender, somewhere.  Not so much anymore. 

Now, a lot of Mortgage Applications are getting turned down because the pool of products has lessened.  I was talking to the owner of my firm earlier today and he brought up a good point.  All this means is that it changes the process, now many times A Plan will have to be involved.

Consumers - For those of you who have that dream of buying a home but don't think you would qualify, that's the greatest reason in the world to talk to a Mortgage Professional right now.  What better way to make sure you can buy a home sooner rather later than establishing a plan of what you need to do to get to where you need to be?  And the perfect way to do this is to talk to a professional.  Same goes if you already are a homeowner and want/need to refinance, talk to somebody now.   Establish a plan, most dreams and successes come to light by this very process.

Real Estate Professional- This is a similar type of thing with us now.  Instead of application = processing loan = loan closes, you are and will continue seeing application = loan gets turned down = no closing.  Yet, a slight change and adaptation needs to be placed upon today's equation.  It is application = loan gets turned down = Set Up A Plan = Consistent contact & follow up = Eventual Client.

Relax, take a deep breath, and formulate a plan.  Things aren't as easy as they once were and that is a good thing...for both Consumers & Real Estate Professionals.  There is now more of journey to everyone's desired destination, all it will take is a little planning this time around.