Archive for November, 2006
I’m an investor. I teach investors. That makes me a little odd. In my QuickStart investment workshop I hold up a golf ball and I ask, “What do you see?”
Everyone says, “A golf ball.”
I lead them with, “I see green grass and blue skies. I see fun with friends. I see sandbunkers and water hazards. I see me going to Golf Plus and buying more balls.”
Then I repeat the question, “What do you see?” Read the rest of this entry »
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And we wonder how we lender’s underwriters get such a bad name…
Dear LICENSED REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS,
I love you.
Signed,
Ken
Dear UNLICENSED BIRD DOGS,
You want respect? Earn it. Get a license and show me some E&O insurance. Read the rest of this entry »
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Having a discussion with my wife last night as we sat around the fire pit, man’s strange endeavor to bring a little of the wild into the city, she posed the question, “Why do you think so many agents and loan officers change jobs all the time at other companies?”
Great question! It probably has a little to do with why owners of other companies the size of ours have a net worth 5 times as great as ours; we reward our employees and associates to the highest level. If you read that as a braggadocios statement I so very humbly apologize. It’s not just the financial compensation it’s also how we all treat each other. We are, as much as possible, a family. Read the rest of this entry »
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Evidently my post from yesterday disappeared between my hitting submit and the post being saved to the server and published – or was it because it contained some news quips on a rather fiery topic … but that’s okay because the CFA (Consumer Federation of America) Executive Director Steve Brobeck is in the news again today.
Testifying before a subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee in late July Brobeck railed on the NAR voicing his opinion that the entire real estate industry is run by insiders who don’t care that 2.5 million agents make 7 million sales per year. He went on further to call the NAR a “cartel” controlled by “dominant brokers” who are mainly concerned with some $84 per year from around 1.3 million members. Read the rest of this entry »
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Wait – before you start passing analytical judgment and consolations of hope overcoming feelings of inadequacy – let me tell you that I am, how should I say it, very convinced of my capabilities and proud of the evidence of my victories. Is that PC enough of an answer?
Today was staff meeting day. I have 3 great awards for performance by staff members. One is a Team Leader and the other two are Mortgage Professionals. (In some companies they would be called Loan Officers but I’m currently, highly dismayed at what passes for a Loan Officer – these are trained, experienced, accredited people who are capable of advising clients with a wealth of information on how to make the decision best for their future, not the LO’s checkbook). But I digress. Read the rest of this entry »
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This may get offensive. If so I do not apologize 
I, like any other self-respecting business person, make more commission on a higher value deal that on a lesser value deal. So you would think that as a lender/broker I would want the highest loan amount I could possibly squeeze out of an applicant. If you thought that, however, you would be mistaken. (Mistaken also means wrong.)
You would further be inclined to believe that when accepting a loan submission from a broker to be funded through our lending arm that I would also prefer to have the maximum loan amount available for the applicant. This also would be an incorrect assumption – or wrong presumption. Read the rest of this entry »
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