Well today is the big day...it is New Years Eve...a day where many actually take a day off...except for me, so I thought I would toss some wisdom out that might last through the long weekend.
One of the things that I like to do at the end of the year is reflect on the year that has just passed me by...both personally and professionally and ask myself what I could have done differently and better.
Personally always holds many surprises for me as I reflect and of course some of the usual suspects like I could have exercised more and ate a better diet. I bet that I have this one in my head right up until the end.
This year though, with the loss of my mom, I find myself thinking about things a little differently. Life is too short and we take way to many things too seriously that we forget to stop and enjoy the simple things. We tend to take too many things for granted and when they go away...we are lost without them.
As I look to next year I want to do more with my family and enjoy them more....you never know when life can toss you a curve ball and you miss it. I do want to become healthier....Finally hitting 50 made me think about a few things as well and when you get winded climbing the stairs at home you ask yourself what happened. With the kids growing I don't have many opportunities to be part of their life left and Denise and I are going to be starting a new life as they exit. What will we ever do with all that extra time.....
Our industry has changed a lot as well and many are lost as a result. The changes in guidelines and policy have made many loan officers ask themselves why they are even doing this anymore. And now with all of the licensing stuff tossed in there it raises the question even more for many. I like to joke that all the money we are spending for this individually will just go back to help the bailout that happened but it will only put a small dent in it. We have lost and will continue to lose more companies and individuals from our industry because of this and that will affect what is left for the consumer to deal with. Hopefully it will leave stronger and more experienced companies and individuals. The industry reminds me a lot more of when I first started back in the 80's. It has more road blocks and has become more conservative. I guess we decided to fix the problem in our industry that we caused by making it even harder to buy a house then it has been in years. That will really help the economy won't it?
The year ahead will be interesting and we all need to look at what our goals are and what we want to accomplish. Getting healthier is always a biggie...but we don't think about getting a healthier attitude or wallet...just a healthier body.....and how often do we actually accomplish this? Start small and with easy things and then build up.
It will be interesting to see what the mortgage industry will hold. Today the final day of trading is positive for interest rates which tells me that we may be looking at a good week ahead but then of course Bernanke could stub his toe and the market could go to hell.
I was on my yahoo account and this made me chuckle...I hope it makes you chuckle as well....it reminds me that we forget about the simple things and take everything way too serious....Have a great 2011!!
http://comedy.video.yahoo.com/?l=3774749&v=7652402
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Hmmmmm....
So my friend Dave Sinykin asked me if I don't like apostrophe's......he has a point. Just like many these days I am taking the easy way while typing and just flying through. So in an effort to make Dave happy..I will use apostrophe's.
This is kind of like the mortgage industry. Back in the crazy days we started taking short cuts to make things easier for everyone; stated income loans, no asset loans, no doc loans and more....and look what that caused...an absolute mess for the industry and home owners as well. So if I use apostrophe's perhaps I will not start a mess of some sort for all of us.....
The mortgage market got whacked yesterday and of course that affected interest rates....again. There are many that are trying to figure out why in the wake of so much data that is bond friendly for the market why rates keep creeping up. Well that is pretty simple and is a combination in my opinion of 3 basic things. First we have year end positioning...what that means is that traders are taking their profits and losses for tax purposes. Second because of the time of the year we have thin trading...what that means is that there are many people taking time off on Wall Street or even the day traders and that creates fewer people trading and skews the market. And finally with the Fed purchasing bonds the way that they are it tends to over amplify the first 2 items that I have mentioned resulting in activity that causes the rates to go up in a skewed and overstated manner.
Personally I believe that after the first of the year we will see interest rates go back down some...just how far I am not sure but I doubt to the levels we saw earlier this year.
What I get a kick out of is that rates went up right around the time that my son came home from college which would also be the same time that I had to spend more money. My guess is that they will go down right around the time that he heads back and I will spend less money at home.
Of course we still have to look forward to all of the Xmas/Holiday spending reports which will affect rates as well. From what I can tell on my own experiences of giving and receiving....we bought and spent less this holiday season....at least I tried to. That could cause rates to drop a little.
Again I am welcome to suggestions from any and all of you of what I can do differently with this blog and really want to get your questions that I might be able to answer as well. One big thing that I am curious about is how often should I post a blog? I mean it is my own personal soapbox in many ways and I should be able to say whatever I want when I want to but I don't want to be mundane and annoying either.
Hey..I just figured out the spell check for this blog format....
This is kind of like the mortgage industry. Back in the crazy days we started taking short cuts to make things easier for everyone; stated income loans, no asset loans, no doc loans and more....and look what that caused...an absolute mess for the industry and home owners as well. So if I use apostrophe's perhaps I will not start a mess of some sort for all of us.....
The mortgage market got whacked yesterday and of course that affected interest rates....again. There are many that are trying to figure out why in the wake of so much data that is bond friendly for the market why rates keep creeping up. Well that is pretty simple and is a combination in my opinion of 3 basic things. First we have year end positioning...what that means is that traders are taking their profits and losses for tax purposes. Second because of the time of the year we have thin trading...what that means is that there are many people taking time off on Wall Street or even the day traders and that creates fewer people trading and skews the market. And finally with the Fed purchasing bonds the way that they are it tends to over amplify the first 2 items that I have mentioned resulting in activity that causes the rates to go up in a skewed and overstated manner.
Personally I believe that after the first of the year we will see interest rates go back down some...just how far I am not sure but I doubt to the levels we saw earlier this year.
What I get a kick out of is that rates went up right around the time that my son came home from college which would also be the same time that I had to spend more money. My guess is that they will go down right around the time that he heads back and I will spend less money at home.
Of course we still have to look forward to all of the Xmas/Holiday spending reports which will affect rates as well. From what I can tell on my own experiences of giving and receiving....we bought and spent less this holiday season....at least I tried to. That could cause rates to drop a little.
Again I am welcome to suggestions from any and all of you of what I can do differently with this blog and really want to get your questions that I might be able to answer as well. One big thing that I am curious about is how often should I post a blog? I mean it is my own personal soapbox in many ways and I should be able to say whatever I want when I want to but I don't want to be mundane and annoying either.
Hey..I just figured out the spell check for this blog format....
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
my first thoughts
So I am a little technology challenged but have decided to attempt to try joining the 21st century as we head in to 2011.
Its odd but you hear a lot about blogs and following them as well as the whole social network deal and what it is good for but at my age.....you just dont think about it.
Well in an interest to try something new and different I have decided to do something new and talk about what I think and take questions on various topics as well. Your questions and your feedback are more then welcome and of course feel free to share this with others so that I can do more with it and exploit myself as well.
Heading in to 2011 there are many that are trying to predict what the mortgage and real estate world will bring us...seriously if we really knew we would be rich as can be and people wold be paying for our advice. But everyone has an opinion and you know what they say about opinions.......
Home prices are near the bottom which makes them a good buy in todays market with interest rates the way that they are. Home prices will eventually go up and so will interest rates...but when is anyones guess. If you read the various papers and articles that are out there.....no one can agree. Lets just agree...that hey will go back up.
It has become to be more difficult to get a mortgage from the standpoint of the paperwork that goes in to it and the prodding and sticking and documentation that is needed...but money is still there and mortgages can be obtained. Just be prepared to think if it as a colonoscopy. Hmmm did I spell that right?
Dont be afraid to refinance your home and dont be afraid of what your value is on your house...we all have lost value in the last few years and we are all ticked oof about it. Blame it on all of the greed that existed earlier in this decade between investors on Wall Street, Lenders, Mortgage brokers, Banks, Appraisers, Real Estate Agents, Loan Officers and of course consumers. Everyoine wanted more....more value...more business, more home and of course more money.
Well I do tend to ramble and this is my first blog post...I think that I did alright but only time will tell.
Its odd but you hear a lot about blogs and following them as well as the whole social network deal and what it is good for but at my age.....you just dont think about it.
Well in an interest to try something new and different I have decided to do something new and talk about what I think and take questions on various topics as well. Your questions and your feedback are more then welcome and of course feel free to share this with others so that I can do more with it and exploit myself as well.
Heading in to 2011 there are many that are trying to predict what the mortgage and real estate world will bring us...seriously if we really knew we would be rich as can be and people wold be paying for our advice. But everyone has an opinion and you know what they say about opinions.......
Home prices are near the bottom which makes them a good buy in todays market with interest rates the way that they are. Home prices will eventually go up and so will interest rates...but when is anyones guess. If you read the various papers and articles that are out there.....no one can agree. Lets just agree...that hey will go back up.
It has become to be more difficult to get a mortgage from the standpoint of the paperwork that goes in to it and the prodding and sticking and documentation that is needed...but money is still there and mortgages can be obtained. Just be prepared to think if it as a colonoscopy. Hmmm did I spell that right?
Dont be afraid to refinance your home and dont be afraid of what your value is on your house...we all have lost value in the last few years and we are all ticked oof about it. Blame it on all of the greed that existed earlier in this decade between investors on Wall Street, Lenders, Mortgage brokers, Banks, Appraisers, Real Estate Agents, Loan Officers and of course consumers. Everyoine wanted more....more value...more business, more home and of course more money.
Well I do tend to ramble and this is my first blog post...I think that I did alright but only time will tell.
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