Real Estate Financing...

To write that we live in interesting times is probably one of the more vague and dull observations I've ever laid out in my thirty-two years on this earth.  If you are looking around and have an IQ below 140, you may be downright confused and a tad bit pissed that there seems to be no full-fleged short-term cure to your ailments.  If you are looking around and have an IQ above 140, what the heck are you doing reading my crap?  You should be out there promoting your next book on Oprah, or at least waxing intellectual with the 'interestingly' appointed Dr. Phil.

Seriously, it isn't the best of times right now.  At least for the majority (I believe) of folks here in the land some vow as the promised one, it's tough.  Frankly, I've felt it too.  My cat Baxter used to eat Liver & Onions and now has no choice but to settle for Spam & Garlic Salt.  He still loves me though and that's a damn good thing.  He's an adorable little whiner.

The root of some of our troubles seems to start and end with the almighty dollar.  As a guy who has done a mortgage or two in his time, I figure it might not be a bad idea to curb some of this... in my own little way.  Buying a house can be a blessing or a curse,,, it depends on who you talk to or who you are working with... maybe even a mixture of the two.  Here's a bit of advice from me whether you own your abode or may want to buy a home down the road:

• Do not shop Interest Rate alone!  This may sound hypocritical considering one of my 'selling points' is I can get better rates than Retail Operations out there.  That simply means some of the big names you see advertised or recognize cost more than a guy like me because I'm wholesale baby!  Yet, don't do business with me because I'm cheaper... at least don't make that the only reason.  Do business with me because I'm better equipped to handle your transaction and more importantly, YOU.  Trust rarely has a price... monetarily speaking.
• Big financial decisions, like owning a home, should be a plan and not an indulgence.  If you got or get away with the latter, make it work by planning what the future can hold.  You don't have to be smart or lucky, just be informed.  I think they call that smucky...
• Any transaction's end result should make you feel and be more comfortable.  Statistics aside, if you can accomplish that... then you've done something with your life.
• Ignore the Media.  Well, not totally, but take what you see and hear in stride... as their ratings ironically depend on our own demise.  Folks tune into train wrecks, whether we are off track or not.
• Watch your credit and your score.  I'd advise not to work with somebody who doesn't understand credit.  As it stands, your standings are as important as they have ever been.  It can cost you money or save you money, that's credit.

And the most important piece of advice I can give is the benefits I may receive...

Win the Lottery and call me in the morning... posing as my rich uncle who cares...

In a world where good credit seems to be more and more vital, every tip and piece of knowledge you can muster can be huge to your financial health.  I read the other day that only 8% of the entire wealth of the world is ever printed as physical cash.  The rest seems to exist on a computer hard drive, in electronic bank accounts around the world.  That leaves 92% of the wealth existing in some sort of credit.  Without good credit, you don't have access to this wealth and it could hinder your ability to prosper and make finances one less worry in the life of you or your family.  Unless you have cash hand over fist at your disposal, the chances of you needing credit loom rather large.  If you do have cash hand over fist though, we should probably talk:)

Here's a few steps you can take to improve your credit and this can be done all by your lonesome:

• Pay off existing credit cards and lines of credit- Okay, this one is a discipline type of thingy.  Unless they are absolute essentials (and no, a trip to Atlantic City is NOT an essential) ... don't spend a dime on anything other than paying down/off debt.  It has been shown that credit cards with at least 90% of credit card debt paid may show an increase of 70 points on your score (assuming there are no additional negative items).
• Use Credit like you would use Dashi stock in Japanese Cooking, sparingly- Unless it's an emergency, keep those credit cards nice and snug in that dapper little wallet you got for Christmas last year.  As your debt to available credit ratio improves, so will that very important credit score of yours.  Of note, the score itself has become more and more important these days in lending.  So, you want to make sure your FICO Score is as high as possible.
• If you are going to pay off an account, Do Not Close It - And I verified this one with our Credit Guy, it seems the scoring module works like this.  Closed accounts with balances will throw off the debt to available credit ratio.  When you close accounts, it generally lowers your score... at least initially.
• Repeal the temptation of applying for New Credit - The module tends to think that applying for new credit may mean you are becoming 'credit desperate' and your score can go down 10-20 points depending upon how many outstanding credit cards or loans you have.  So while you are paying down your debt, apply for no other credit whatsoever.
• Ensure all positive accounts are reporting on all three credit bureaus - Review your credit report in full, making sure every loan (car, student, etc) and revolving line of credit (credit cards, store cards, etc) are reporting to all three bureaus.  If you are paying those accounts on time, you will want to make sure all three bureaus are recognizing your stellar spending habits.
• While you are reviewing your credit report, watch for mistakes - Maybe your twin brother Pedro has a collection or late payment showing on your credit file?  Maybe your cousin Eddie has a bankruptcy that has somehow found itself on your report?  These kind of mistakes can be brutal, make sure they aren't showing up on your beloved resource for helping to achieve wealth.
• Apply for a Secured Credit Card - If you have no credit at all or all of your previous accounts have been closed, you'll need open credit on your file to maintain a credit score.  Apply for a secured credit card and after six months, ask for an increase in the credit limit.  Secured Credit Cards are usually cards where you give them cash up front and they then give you a credit card to borrow from it.  Just make sure that card reports to all three bureaus.

These quick tips are some of the things that can help to improve your credit score.  As a consumer, you probably already know that your credit score plays a significant role in your financial well being.  As I've written before, it can get you dinner at the White House or Ramen Noodles in the poor house.  Well, it may not get you Foie gras with the Commander in Chief, but it well help you avoid chowing on Spam with your Cousin Eddie.  

 

 

A warm bed.  A nostalgic blanket.  Knowing for one moment in time that ordinary comforts can't be taken away from you.  Maybe it's just modern day, however we don't have the horrors of various other civilizations to compare our own situations too.  At least not tangibly.  Comfort means different things to different people.

Oh will we have a story to tell.

Tomorrow I'm going to write about some very simple measures to improve your credit.  The day after that, I will embark on trying to explain what risk factors go into calculating what interest rate you qualify for.  But tonight, I will simply wish you a warm night's sleep before I wax intellectual on your not so remote posterior.

We are a curious bunch, us beings, engulfed with the next great idea to make our lives better... more fulfilled.  Whether we marry a religion, a woman, a man, a political affiliation, we will do everything we can to make sure we are important and doing something right in this life.  That's a good thing, at least I think.

I thought about something long and hard over the past few days, something I haven't thought about in quite some time.  And then, I heard it from a familiar voice whose proximity to my soul is damn near uncanny.  While I wonder why we are here, why I am here, the curious notion always floating in my skull has been what term truly explains it all.  Some will quote scripture, prophets, philosophers, dead relatives, Jack Nicholason or their Dead Uncle.  I quote a dream, not of my own.

The art of being.  Four words, one meaning.  Being.  Just being, babe.  Like energy flowing through the clouds, like blood running through the veins, being is what we are ultimately after.  At least that's what I hear.

When I go to bed at night, wake up in the morn, being is what I'm after.  Sure, a warm bed and nostalgic blanket make it easier... as does any sort of comfort at all.  We are born to be, whatever you do from there is your own gig.  But being is the only thing we consciously seem to know.

So as you wake up and shake the dreams scattered through your synapses, what are you being today?  I don't mean to sound like Gary Woltal over here, but inspiration is beside every obtuse notion and instance among us.  Being makes sense, Human Beings are a anomoly in of themselves.  That's the next difficult question.

Reflection:

To understand where we come from is, in part, to understand the the very way we started.  Do you recall your first Real Estate Transaction?

I was working for the Federal Grill here in Allentown, a somewhat recently extinct semi-fine dining restaurant.  While life there seemed to be that of a rock star, without much in the way of fame or fortune, I was unhappy because I hadn't a clue of what I was going to do for the rest of my life.  My dreams of catch as catch wrestling had died because the passion withered and my contempt for the industry grew.  I was lost and didn't know the next place life would take me, or where I may take life next.

A gal I worked with at the Federal Grill, I'll refer to her as Beth Forbes (I dare you to look her up on this forum)... moved on to the world of mortgages.  Roughly two years after she made that transition, she entered the Federal Grill and I just had to ask the question, "Beth, are you hiring?"  I remember, if I'm not mistaken, her answering... "Aggressively."

So began a young journey into a world I had no clue about at the time.  I would meander into the office every chance I could to learn and try to drum up business.  While I hated talking on the phone, that became my only way of generating enough action to quantify me being able to come in and have anybody pay attention to me or teach me a thing.  I was willing to pay dues and while my parents are successful folks, I had always earned my keep and done things the hard way... because I thought it was the right way.  They thought I was crazy; I knew I was just stubborn.

After many a phone call, I ran across a couple who were in debt out their ear-hairs and needed help bad.  My call was timely in reaching them.  I should mention that when I started in this biz, rates had become super low and the refi boom was on the verge of becoming an epidemic that would tease any gibroni who wanted to make a buck to be an 'expert' in this industry.  I never understood that mentality, still don't. 

Yet, these folks didn't qualify in any facet for those rates so heavily advertised on television & local newspapers back then.  Young me, I heard what we could do for them and immediately retorted, "8.5% on a fixed rate?  Why would they ever take that with rates so low?"  My mentor at the time pointed out the astutely obvious, we are consolidating a lot of stuff and saving them $400.00 a month.  "What does the interest rate matter if they are saving money along the way?  Plus, they don't qualify for anything else!"  I replied, "They will not take it, that interest rate is way too high."

Well, they took it and it had nothing to do with my sales technique.  I didn't think they would want it, yet it was they who knew what was best for them, especially back then.  I told them what was available and they never balked.  I collected my net paycheck on that very small loan of $500.00 and quit my position at the Federal Grill and started full-time at First Choice Equity Group, Inc.  Sardi grew a nut; Sardi realized that folks will always buy houses and need money.  Young Sardi realized that what seemed a good deal for them to me ... wasn't necessarily shared by them and vice versa.  Young Sardi realized that sales is a game of friendship and I hope I can provide what you need to be done to better your world.

As our world grows more complex (in perception only most of the time;-), I realize this isn't a game at all.  Can I help or can't I; let's leave the rest aside.  I called that couple again about six months ago and they are doing pretty well.  They seem to be one of the better stories of all that is happening.  They have eight years left on their mortgage and have no other debt at all. 

We concentrated on the interest rate for so long, it makes me wonder if we ignored or dismissed the true value in Capitalistism... Savings.  I know I did.

America... it's freaking Friday, well technically Saturday.  None the less, grow some nuts and be the squirrel that eats away... and helps out in the every way.  Feel good and not just because it is better than being hurt...

 

 

There's this individual that perhaps some of you may be familiar with.  He's a bit of an intellectual.  He's a bit of a comedian.  He's a bit of a verbal genius.  Despite the vicious rumors of his demise, this man is alive and well and living in a sweatbox in a remote part of Scrappy Corner, NJ.  Seriously though, no introduction is really needed.  Enjoy the fruits of greatness:

 

My Mother Loves Derivatives

By Andrew J. Lenza

 

My mother called and asked me for a layperson's definition of a derivative, in light of the global financial fiasco. (Most residents of New Jersey, long mired in our state's financial fiasco, feel warm and fuzzy over the increase in party guests.)

 

Mom is spooked about credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations (CDO's) wreaking Holy havoc.

 

What is a derivative?

 

Posing the same question to former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan might produce the phonetic response akin to dropping the bag of Scrabble letters into a fish pond. A lot of Q's and Z's and X's wrapped around wannabe sushi.  How can the average person understand such an obtuse financial construct when all we hear from our revered economic leaders is three parts ‘gobbly' and one part ‘gook'?

 

"What is a derivative?" is a complex question beset by any number of multiple choice answers that look good on the SAT - until, that is, you're pumping gas for Lukoil. Let's talk to the hand. I doubt half of Congress can explain a derivative without an aide and a head start.

 

My explanation bears two parts, thereby saving you two parts gobbly-gook. Mine is a bargain-basement blog.

 

Part I -- What "it" isn't.

 

A derivative is the opposite of any financial transaction is which you're done when you walk away. In a non-derivative trade you know emphatically and empirically where you stand. Your known risk is 100% of your investment.  There's no inherent additional risk like a sand beetle hiding in Aunt Gertie's ashes.

 

Unlike a derivative in a simple purchase you're not expected to walk back with additional money. Most of us conceptualize buy-low-and-sell-high and the painful buy-high-and-sell-low.

 

But a derivative is anything but simple and straight forward. Let's use scalping a ticket at an AC/DC concert as an example.

 

SCALPER:     "I got two. Need two?"

YOU:           "How much for two?"

SCALPER:    "Buck fitty."

YOU:           "I'll pay a honey for two."

 

You haggle. He haggles. You walk away in a huff. He follows. But you both you close the deal. You're strolling your vamped-out middle-aged date into Madison Square Garden after purchasing two "hot" floor seats for a hundred and twenty five dollars. You exchanged one Franklin, one Jackson and one weary Lincoln.

 

You're not expected to "inject additional capital" into the trade: a simple goods-for-currency transaction with each contra-party - opposing side - walking away with little future liability to each other.

 

Part II -- A derivative is any transaction in which a third party stands to lose or gain if the original deal goes awry.

 

Now let's say an investment banker standing outside Barney's across the street observes your buy and approaches you.

 

"I can insure those tickets for you."

 

"Insure me against what?"

 

"In case the Garden is closed for botulism or the lead singer pulls a Britney."

 

"So I'd recoup my $125 investment if the show doesn't go on?"

 

"Affirmative. I'll charge you 10% of each ticket's value to insure your $125."

 

"Let's say the concert is outright canceled with no rain date. How do I get to see AC/DC and their wicked light show?"

 

"I've procured two tickets for the identical show at the Rock in Newark for next week. Those tickets on the street go for roughly the same. You're covered."

 

Sounds like an excellent "asset protection plan" so you fork over an additional $12.50 to protect your initial investment. Now the savvy investment banker has indeed purchased two tickets to AC/DC at the Rock for face value, $35 per seat, on the wholesale market.

 

But he's already sold them for a hefty mark-up of $80 per ticket to another scalper who'll "retail" them out for one Ben, one Tom and one Abe.  He has also purchased insurance for himself at 5% of "market value" or $4.00 - just in case your Garden concert is canceled. His replacement tickets are for the Buffalo concert; no one is sweating the distance between venues because no one expects any of the concerts to "non-perform."

 

That would be unimaginable.

 

Therein lies a curious and devious cycle. The same assets are bought and sold in a fuzzy after-market. Each is embedded with a future risk and reward. To the guy on the street this is difficult to understand; it's all "opaque."  To the investment banker or hedge fund trader this is crystal clear "opportunity."

 

None of this transpires in a physical setting. There's no Exchange, no trading session on television signaled by a happy-face corporate bell-ringer.  We have no tiny derivative ticker marching across the screen. Not even a website. You and I can gamble online "in" a Costa Rican casino with a credit card; we just can't "see" derivatives.

 

Sort of like riding a unicycle in a cave.

 

The "insurance" you purchased for $12.50 represents both "premium income" and a future liability for the investment banker les "market forces" require him to deliver those replacement tickets. Repeated hundreds -- if not thousands of times over - the outstanding balance of all these side deals quickly eclipse the total value of the actual goods or services-for-currency trade.

 

The murky side deals are "derived" from the original transaction.  A house of cards? Plastic laminate is sturdier; this amorphous financial storm is a mist of fog wrapped within a cloud of smoke.

 

When the financial system starts buying and selling "synthetic" scenarios pegged to a future event you can see the potential harmful affect of AC/DC band members splitting up in a nasty tiff and canceling all the shows on their Northeast tour. What happens if a major labor strike closes all concert venues in a 500 mile radius for six months?

 

Your "insurance" is worthless because "performance" is impossible. There will be no show.

 

The investment banker is now forced to reimburse the original ticket purchasers or renege entirely.  Attempts by the investment banker to raise new capital by selling other "unencumbered assets" or borrow in the market fail, leading to insolvency. There are very little "unencumbered assets" on his Balance Sheet because every asset is "cross collateralized" to bring in additional trading revenue.

 

You knock on the investment banker's door for repayment. He knocks on Uncle Sam's door for relief.

 

The tail ends of the Bell Curve are those catastrophic consequences when the unimaginable occurs.  When we transact at the "mean" the norm prevails and we innocently, blithely go about our lives.

 

What are the odds of getting struck by lightning while riding a unicycle in a cave? Quite low -- until the freak accident occurs and does so in stark, shocking regularity.  Now everyone is bolted off their bikes. The seeds of our Panic have been sown in the nightmares of our Bliss.

 

Take a mortgage. At the closing table you thought you were all alone with your lawyer and closing agent. Yet there are several hundred invisible voyeurs (traders and speculators) looking down your blouse or up your pants leg from behind a two way mirror, divvying up the short-term and long-term body parts of your note.  Your loan walks in like a perfumed Vestal virgin and stumbles out like a scythed Venus de Milo.

Unless the originating institution holds onto the loan, not only is the principal amount of the transaction sliced, diced and repackaged into another financial contract; even the stream of interest payments on these credit transactions is "synthetically" bargained.

 

And no one asked you if they could carve up Baby.

 

As a taxpayer you're still trapped in that fog. Unbeknownst to you, however, an army of well-dressed Wall Street cannibals follows stealthily along, each sporting night vision goggles and a new set of Ginzu's.  Yum.

 

Further, the advent of a digitized International banking system allows for the rapid buying and selling of these instruments with a phone call and a keystroke.

 

A derivative can be spawned from any financial contract, so long as there are traders and bankers willing to gamble and profit on a future event.  Mortgages, stocks, bonds, commodities, precious metals are all open to the ingenuity of perky Ivy League MBA's with Excel spreadsheets. The Age of Financial Engineering now gives way to the Age of De-leveraging; that capital which we created easily is destroyed in like fashion within days if not hours.

 

That's how I perceive derivatives anyway. For what's its worth I do have an MBA from a gritty Jesuit college. Alas, I am past the Age of Perky. 

 

You?  You just wanted to take your date to a hip concert. Who knew?  Cheer up. There's always free public television.

 

 

I'm of the firm belief that if you borrow money, you should pay it back.  Sure, life circumstances occur and you may not be able to do so anytime soon... yet fair is fair.  If I am given money from you, I should eventually pay it back to you.  That is the right thing to do. 

Yet, the loopholes are many.  If I had to do it all over again... and I just might, I would passionately study law.  I haven't been able to verify what I'm about to write (which is why I would make a bad attorney on paper), but have you heard of the following...

If a debt that you owe is too old, you are NOT required to pay it.

Before I delve into that, it's probably best to know how collection agencies work.  I issue you a credit card from the International Bank of Jason Sardi which allows you to borrow up to $5,000.00 against it... assuming monthly payments are made on time.  You are doing well and everything is wonderful and paying the IBJS just fine, but then you run into a financial funk.  You begin to not pay anything to the IBJS and eventually the IBJS writes off the debt as uncollectible.  After all, you can't squeeze blood from a turnip... or so they say.  So, IBJS sells your debt as part of a bundled package to a collection agency for a very low price to get it off 'their' books and/or portfolio line.  That collection agency, who bought your debt pretty darn cheap, hopes to collect high and reap mucho profits along the way. 

Each state differs in their laws, yet if you have a debt that was written off (let's say 6 or 7 years ago) and there has been no activty on your credit report for the debt since then, you are probably relieved of that debt forever.  Like a gallon of milk that you are buying from the store, it seems debts have an expiration date as well.

In Pennsylvania, it seems that four years is the magic number.  I could arm you with some of the knowledge and information to rebuke that debt, but I'd rather suggest to you to negotiate a settlement... what is fair is fair.  The International Bank of Jason Sardi issued you a credit line of $5,000.00 and you racked up $3,000 in expenses before you stopped paying.  A collection agency paid IBJS $500.00 for the account/debt after IBJS deemed it 'a loss'.  Tack onto that $3000.00 accrued interest, late fees, and any sort of greed-driven drivel they want; that account may show up with a $5,000.00 balance after all.  The collection agency just shelled out $500.00 in lieu of possibly collecting $5,000.00!  No way, Jose!!  Negotiate yourself to financial freedom.  Or at least freedom to exorcise those financial demons.  Offer low, be prepared to raise the stakes a bit to come to an agreement.  If you already own a home or plan on purchasing one, think about not wanting some jack-ass having any dibs whatsoever on your property. 

There seems to be a Statute of Limitations on Debt, yet if you aren't a Credit Attorney or don't do your homework... loopholes reside on both sides. 

The loophole to distinguish this 'consumer protection' measure is that those agencies keep your account active, which gives them a legal right to pursue the collections or render judgment against your current holdings.

Now, that written... homeowners or prospective homeowners should be aware of a few things here:

• any collection account showing on credit or title has to be paid in full (negotiate a settlement) prior to or at closing
• collections showing up on your credit can hurt your credit score and the lower your score, the more expensive your mortgage (interest rate, fees, etc) may be.
• active collection accounts could render a judgment against any property you may own.  Now, most of them won't because it is too expensive or they are just looking for a scare tactic to collect money... but it could be done.

Always remember, almost everything involving debt is negotiable.  They would rather have something than nothing.  Communicate & Negotiate.  You'll be one of the few that do it and reap the rewards for acting upon it. 

Don't hide from those you owe money too, get in their face.  Show them just how ugly ethical you can be.

Lastly, we are much more than all this 'Financial & Political' talk.  Take it easy, relax, and have a good weekend.  If you are in trouble, shoot me a message.  I won't guarantee I will provide the answer or solution, but I will be a shoulder to your situation.  Chaos creates character in us all.

 

 

 

It was about 5:48 PM when I got out of this evening's closing.  I arrived at 4:00 PM.  It's my second of the month and boy do I have some bar water cooler stories for anyone interested.  Before I go further, I should mention that each respective client at each respective closing did their due diligence in making sure no question they had was left unanswered.  Kudos to you both!  On one hand we have a first time home buyer.  On the other, was a first time Real Estate Investor.  I'll get to that in a moment though...

I found out that tomorrow is Mental Health Day.  I wasn't aware that I had a three day weekend.  Yet, it makes one (me) think.

My mother has spent her entire life working with and teaching those who society deems as mentally challenged.  As a youngster, I saw that she brought her work home with her and I saw her passion being unrewarded with financial gain.  I saw her passion to help cause a heck of a lot of stress... passion sometimes goes unrewarded along the less than merry way. 

From day one, I looked at a lot of those who weren't socially compatible mentally, as persons who were closer to a higher power than the rest of us.  While their intellect failed socially, at least in our culture, their hearts performed miracles of humane notions.  It wasn't that ignorance was bliss; it was and is their heart that our intellect would not allow us to understand.

Tough times, damn right!  I propose a simple solution to lead us to the promised land, that of one which will make our lives a bit more comfortable. 

I left that closing (or so I thought) at 5:48 PM this evening but before I did... the client gave a speech that stimulated both my mind and heart.  Because of that, I left much after 5:48 PM;-)  Sure, they were trying to wax intellectual in saying that they want to build a team for future reference... but I saw something different every time his eyes made contact with mine.  All he really wanted was a sense of trust and stability.  All they really wanted was to make sure folks they worked with were really on their side.

My mother has represented folks who weren't in tune with society as we know it for her entire life.  Now I represent folks who are unsure of what it takes to buy or refinance a home.  While it is not easy to take on the media in mid-drift, it makes little difference if we burn out or fade away.  Both options are failure.  I won't concede that just yet. 

Tis life...

I gotta give it to Active Rain, its pulse on Google has seemed to transform into various other media forms.  I've read many a post here on how fellow Mortgage Professionals have been contacted by newspapers, television, magazines, etc... because someone came across their blog here on Active Rain.

A couple of weeks back, I got an email from Erica Ramus, a broker with Realty Executives in Pottsville, Pa.  She had given my number to a reporter for the Republican & Herald, a newspaper also out of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.  They were to run a story on the mortgage mess and wanted to get some insight from local Real Estate Professionals.

The story ran on the 27th of September and is actually a pretty good article.  It's a pretty in depth look and analysis of what is going on in the Mortgage and Real Estate Industry.  In simple terms, it also gives consumers insight to educate themselves when buying a home.  If they already own one and are finding themselves in times of trouble, this article can also be of benefit.

You can check out the full story and the link here.

Erica and I were quoted several times in the article.  I even came off as quasi-intelligent, which is typically a good thing.  So a belated thank you to Erica for spreading some Sardi love to the local media and a thank you to this forum... for publicity that costs just a few moments of our own precious time.

Nostalgia can be timely.

Being your own worst enemy is never easy.  Tilting your head to your shoulder in obscurity rarely beckons greatness or allows ourselves and others to understand the world in which we live.

At an early age, I wanted to be able to write something that explained everything.  Call it an egotistical way of looking at things and thinking I may know more than the next guy or gal... yet I watched the others for years and found them ridiculous.  Shortly thereafter, I looked in the mirror and found much of the same.

I believe in a higher power and know it's not me. 

Tired am I of settling for an imperfect world.  Tired am I of settling for anything.  Each day I see and hear folks who are hurting.  Some I can help, some I can't.  If you are still seeing reading, in case you are still following these words I type... I work in the Mortgage Industry.  It's funny, some people used to get dates by saying that.  Me, I always garnered a gal's attention by professing my astute knowledge of molecular biology and generational physics.  None the less, you tell someone you work in Real Estate these days... they tend to gasp and hand you a token for a local Arcade.

My favorite piece of curriculum when I went to College was 'Humanity'.  Imagine that.  Heck, I think we need more of it.  While I personally love making money and paying my bills and being able to afford luxury expenses... all that seems to miss the major point of this gig called life.  I'll drop tears for those who are less fortunate in a 'Capitalistic sort of way'... and I'll drop a bomb on those who are so self-centered that they don't give a rat's beady ass about anything other than their portfolio of power.  At the same time, we make our beds and should sleep in them.

Yes, we live in interesting times.  Yes, it is difficult for a lot of folks.  And yes, it comes down to money... follow it and you will know the drill.  But I assure you that the drill isn't you or us.  We are more than that.  When we figure that out, we'll probably be dead and in another place.  Sorry for the morbid thought, but I think it may reign true.

We live life one moment at a time, one second of a minute, and one day of our calender year.  You want answers to the economical turmoil going on right now... it's probably in your heart!?!  Hire folks that care.  Hire folks that consider you more than a paycheck.  Hire Real Estate Professionals that not only know their chosen craft, but know your human goals. 

My worst enemy has been myself.  Despite letting few in, I let so much out.  Trust is hard to come by these days, especially when desperation seems rampant.  I will tell you what, to any and every consumer still reading... there are good folks around here who are making an honest living.  The trepidation doesn't surprise me, it actually resonates quite well.  I'll do best for you and I expect nothing less than for you to return the favor.  In the end, when we bask in our own humanity, we trust what is right.  Beauty is in the eyes of the bolder... we'll be fine as long as we remain true to us.

When I die, I want one thing and one thing only.  I want to leave whatever part of the world I affected... a better place.  Screw perception though, I just want the truth.

To one of the greatest poems in popular music, I jest... read and think.  More than that, relax.   

'Cold hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colors from our sight.
Red is grey and yellow white,
But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion?
Pinprick holes in a colorless sky,
Let insipid figures of light pass by,
The mighty light of ten thousand suns,
Challenges infinity and is soon gone.
Night time, to some a brief interlude,
To others the fear of solitude.
Brave helios wake up your steeds,
Bring the warmth the countryside needs.

Breathe deep the gathering gloom,
Watch lights fade from every room.
Bedsitter people look back and lament,
Another day's useless energy spent.
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one,
Lonely man cries for love and has none.
New mother picks up and suckles her son,
Senior citizens wish they were young.

'Cold hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colors from our sight.
Red is grey and yellow white,
But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion?

No matter what side of the fence you stand on, you may want to read the following.  Matt Heaton has proved to be one of the more astute financial minds out there and seems to have a real pulse on what is going on in our economy.  In this post, he not only defines the problem but provides some ideas for a solution.  Check it out and let me know what you think.