Choosing a Lender for Financing

Today my post will be short and sweet.  Financing has become a nightmare.  The very ones who got us in this mess are now making it nearly impossible for people to get financing.  I recently closed a loan that should have closed two months ago.  It was truly by the grace of God that the buyer hung in there.

So how should you choose a lender?  Well first of all, avoid mortgage brokers if you can.  In the days of glory, brokers were the better option because they could shop your loan and get you the best rate and terms.  However, now brokers are stuck having to kowtow to the "investor" or the real lender.  And the borrower is suffering from it because they are having to pay two set of fees and are experiencing delays.

Second, direct lenders have more latitude and actually have more products to offer.  Think about one of the big ones like Wells Fargo.  If they can make a lot of loans which makes them a lot of money, then they can offer more competitive terms to the next borrower.  And since the money is coming directly from them, many of the hassles have been eliminated.

So in this current market, I would definitely suggest that you choose a direct lender as opposed to a mortgage broker.

Also, if you are in the market to purchase and need assistance, there are still a good number of down payment assistance out there.  Contact me for more information.

A Mess in the House

Lately I have been doing some thinking about the state of the world and more specifically the state of the United States.  So before I get into that I want to paint a picture as a foundation.

Imagine if you had 30 children in your house for the weekend.  Let's go further and say that you were not there, but perhaps you let a teenager serve as the supervisor.  I will give you a minute to let that soak into your imagination.  You return home Sunday afternoon to an absolute mess.  There is no space or place in your home that has not been affected.  Where do you start?  Do you attack your bedroom first since you have to sleep there?  Or maybe you want to get to the kitchen under the control for fear of rodents and pests.  Where do you start?  Well you map out a plan and start to execute it.  Other members of your household start to question your methodology.  They wonder why you would neglect certain rooms in the house to clean others.  You stay your course and keep moving forward.

Now it's Tuesday and your house is nearly back to normal.  But you start to smell something awful.  You start sniffing around and discover some spoiling food behind the bookcase in the den downstairs.  How did food end up behind a floor to ceiling bookcase?  Doesn't really matter because it's your mess to clean up now although you didn't make it.

Now let's consider the current state of affairs.  President Bush had a bunch of his friends over and allowed them to completely mess up the house.  President Obama came into the house with a mess.  He had to decide which room to clean up first.  There is a rhyme to his reasoning even though some of the world can't see it or refuse to try to understand it.  He has stayed his course and slowly, but surely the house is getting cleaned up.  The unfortunate part is that he occasionally has smelled something foul and discovered a mess behind the bookcase.  So he has to adjust his plan and address this issue before rodents and pests invade the space.

Now that you have thought about the state of the country from this perspective, can we all just support what President Obama is trying to do.  He walked into an utter mess and is doing what he can to clean it up.  He had to pick a room to attack first.  We may not have chosen that room first, but either way the whole thing has to be cleaned. 

I am very proud of what President Obama has accomplished.  I hope that people will reduce their criticism and give more support.  We are all in this mess.  What are we doing to help clean it up???

Dieting: The Secret to Success

Recently I re-invented myself by losing a significant amount of weight.  It interests me that so many people make the same comment, "you are keeping it off."  Well when I first heard this comment, I would be a bit put off.  But now I embrace this view.  So today I want to share the best kept secret about dieting. 

First let me say that any diet can and will work.  It doesn't matter what you do as long as follow the prescribed program, you can lose weight.  Now this does not mean that I support every diet program out there.  Actually I don't support hardly any of them.  Most of them are not healthy and only allow water lost.  But my point is this, if you view a diet program as a jump start, re-focusing moment, meditation time, self-discipline practice, then you can use this "diet" time successfully.

So many people have inquired, asked, begged about what I did to lose the weight.  I happily share with them, but the program is not the key.  The key to any weight loss program, diet or fad is not what you do while "on the diet," but what you do once off.  Many people believe that there is some miracle diet out there.  That when they complete it, they will the body of their dreams.  Then when they gain all of the weight back plus some bonus pound, they become depressed. 

The secret to success in weight loss is how you change your life after the diet.  If you go back to eating and living the way you had previously, you will surely fail.  You can't think that you will be able to do whatever you want and maintain your dream body.  You have to adopt a lifestyle change.  You have to recognize that every decision has to be considered.  So before you reach for that candy bar, you should reach on your bag for a piece of fruit.  But of course if you are thoughtful about your lifestyle there will be no fruit in there.  Each day has to be approached with planning and self-discipline.  You have to anticipate what your body needs through the day.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  You've heard this all of your life, but maybe you don't know why.  Breakfast breaks your fast from the day before and it starts your metabolism.  Breakfast provides you the energy needed to get started.  Then a mid-morning snack gives you that energy boost.  But choose wisely.  Breakfast should not be a frosted doughnut or sugared cereal.  Your snack should be a king size candy bars and a soda.   The rest of the day should continue in the same manner: lunch, snack, dinner, snack.  This is how you can eat six small meals a day.

So the response to the comment I get so much is simple.  I pay attention to what I consume.  I have adjusted my lifestyle so that I can continue my success.  Before I put something in my mouth I ask, "is this worth the consequences?"

Now that you know the secret to dieting success, I wish you much success.