Friday, June 27, 2008

How NOT to video comment

dogwhitebackground2 Should I be taking this seriously? 

The other day I posted a question to about possible pitfalls of duplicate content as  it pertains to Search Engine Rankings (SEO). 

That's important stuff to bloggers.  Do a search Mike and Mortgage on Google and I'm going to be right at the top. 

  • How many Mike's are there in the world? 
  • How many Mortgage companies, web sites, individual pages? 

Currently I'll show up as #3 out of 12 Million.  That's why Page Rank discussion is high on the list.

But back to the point. 

So I posted my question, got some answers, and somehow got this guy.

He's French, living in Paris, doesn't understand English, but somehow felt compelled to comment.

Not only did he comment, but didn't he just release an "under leg noise?"

 

Should I be offended?  

Should I laugh it off?  

or should I comment back? (if you know what I mean

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Friday, March 28, 2008

The Mortgage Haiku Collage

Now that I've set out all 17 entries individually,
I'd thought I'd put them all in one easy to access place.

What is a Haiku you ask?

The traditional Japanese Haiku format follows the syllable pattern of 5 - 7 - 5. The writer might bring in a word or concept (kiga) that evokes memories of a particular season.
The last line is usually in sharp contrast (caesura) to the body of the poem.

I chose to backdrop each poem with a traditional Japanese watercolor or photograph. Some in contrast, others not.

To the Haiku purist the following might not be proper in the strict sense. Your latitude is appreciated.

Why 17? It is the total number of syllables in a Haiku, no other reason.
Why separate them? Each one should be read and engaged individually.

Outside Links:



Lisa asked for a little help in understanding my Haiku. I realized if one person asks, how many others don't ask?

They say a Poet should never have to explain his verse - it's a good thing I'm not a Poet!

So, Lisa...

Not just for you, but for all the others who are maybe a little too intimidated to ask, here is a cheat sheet for each one.

Haiku 1: It's estimated that somewhere close to 80% of the homeowners who let their home go to Trustee Sale, NEVER contact their lender. Wow!

Haiku 2: I see time and time again the Payment Option Arm showing up in Short Sale transactions. Generally these people bought into the minimum payment and then bought Cars and took fancy vacations. Now, that life style is coming back to haunt them.

Haiku 3: As a Mortgage Broker many of us have seen the regulations and pending tightening against being aimed at us. For good reason I might add. We all know there are crooks and thieves out there - and many of them are Mortgage Brokers. However there are also honest ethical people out there who do the right thing and always have.

Haiku 4: When a Payment Option Arm recasts, it doesn't just adjust, it can easily double or triple their payments. How many jobs can a family work just too keep up?

Haiku 5: NINA. It's a type of loan we used to have. It stood for No Income, No Assets. The borrower simply signed the loan application and the Income and Asset sections were blank. That loan is long gone. NINA was also one of Columbus' three ships.

Haiku 6: I start paying attention to the news at 5 AM. I stream financial tv into the office as well as subscribing o over 160 blogs. Chang is happening so quickly these days, the only thing that is constant seems to be change.

Haiku 7: The 1003 (pronounced Ten - O - Three) is the standard mortgage application form. As guidelines change, what was fundable yesterday, might not be today, and what tomorrow holds - well we just don't know.

Haiku 8: Of the aforementioned 160 + blogs in my daily reader these are some of the best bloggers in the business.

Haiku 9: This is one of my favorites. A mortgage can mean drastically different things to different people.

Haiku 10: In this day, the old tried and true methods of generating business probably aren't working. To survive, you must adapt!

Haiku 11: It seems everyone is looking for someone or something to blame.

Haiku 12: Financial Crunch, Liquidity Crunch. Sometimes I get a little tired of hearing the same thing over and over. When it comes to Crunch's make mine Chocolate!

Haiku 13: The Slam Dunk. It's a Loan Officer term for a loan that doesn't require a lot of work and flies through underwriting. Or at least it used to.

Haiku 14: So many people look at blogging, SEO, Metatags as the way to build business. If that's all your doing - your missing the boat!

Haiku 15: Once again, for the real estate professional what used to be isn't what needs to be today. This came from a conversation I had with a real estate agent who just didn't understand why a loan couldn't be done.

Haiku 16: With all the good changes that are happening we still see Buyers not willing to make the commitment to enter the market.

Haiku 17: This was one of my favorite pictures. I must have tried 20 different ways to fit the words in without taking away from the picture. This was the best i could come up with.

Like the coming and going tide, the real estate market is cyclical. To me this picture reminded me both of that and the idea to stay on the path. The current troubles we are seeing are only temporary.

And there you have it. A simple and easy KEY to each poem!

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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Protect Our House

Yes, it's another Countrywide story.  If you can believe it I am very tired about writing about the curious happenings at Countrywide.  I've talked to many other blogger's  who  are overloaded as well.   We're close to hitting the saturation point .

But this is one story that gave me a chuckle and I have to share.  Bear with me.

Saturation

corporatepropaganda First a little recap.  Inside the walls of Countrywide is a powerful PR machine unlike any other mortgage company.  Back in August this machine spit out a canned email message that it then had all it's loan officers send out as if they had written it themselves.  I wrote about it here in my post titled "... know that I am here, backed by Countrywide".

Days later I was astonished to hear they had a two pronged attack in "I'm applying for the Branch Manager Position".  Same story, brought to you this time from the branch manager level.

I then posted a query a month later in which I found it very curious that I had two people in two nearby towns, both behind in their Countrywide mortgages; one foreclosed on in the most expedient and aggressive manner, and the other allowed to live on with little to no harassment for almost a year!  That was "Tale of Two Cities" .  Are they really trying to keep REOs off their books by selective foreclosures?

The WristBand

So when Countrywide employee moral was at it's lowest, and the company turned to cfc_pledge_letter_2PR Giant Burson-Marsteller and switched it's focus from outside to inside, I was pretty much burned out on all too familiar Countrywide Bashing posts.  I'm talking about the "Protect Our House" campaign in which CW employees signed a pledge of allegiance and got to wear these nifty Lance Armstrong styled wristbands.  Remember that?

I just let that story slip off into oblivion.  I was clearly in CW overload.

eBay, Capitalism, and First

The yesterday, while doing research for an upcoming post (selling your home on eBay) I inadvertently ran across a Countrywide "Protect Our House" wristband listed for sale.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  So I did a search and found that this guy wasn't alone!

Here's the list I found: LINK  Currently at 22 Auctions.

cfc_wrist_band_2 The winner?  The first one listed (Oct 10th) by Air44bg .  It sold for $182.50!  Currently they are selling at $20 if they get a bidder at all.  It clearly pays to be first.  If you look at the ones being sold today you'll see the market has deteriorated.  Like builders, they have to give away "Free Upgrades".  Here is one with a free Countrywide Mousepad,  and another with a Countrywide Puzzle.

I think I'll wait a little longer - yeah, I'm sitting on the fence for this one.

    

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Friday, August 24, 2007

Lighten Up

It's Friday. I've had a heavy week. Very heavy.

This must be the universe's way of telling me to lighten up.

I happened to be viewing a CNBC Video on You Tube with a guy named Dylan. He's a news anchor and as you might guess the subject matter was heavy. Apparently YouTube thinks that if I'm interested in what Dylan thinks of the Fed's upcoming decision then I must also be interest in some old guy named Bob.

Subterranean Homesick Blues has some sort of Real Estate message in it doesn't it?

So I kicked back and thoroughly enjoyed classic 2 and a quarter minutes of classic Dylan.

dylan



It's all about Pawking Metaws you know!




That put me into a much nicer space.

Then You Tube threw me a curve ball. Hey that isn't Bob! That's Wierd Al.

So how I ask, does YouTube know just how much I enjoy a good Palindrome?

My all time favorite Palindrome?

"Satan Oscillate My Metallic Sonatas"

No really. Always has been. Way before Soundgarden

Lighten up, it's Friday!

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Tuesday, April 24, 2007

San Jose Sharks to play the Detroit Redwings

 Mike MuellerHockey fever is here in the Bay Area!

The SJ Sharks have moved on to the second round.

With the loss by the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 7 against the Vancouver Cannucks, the Sharks are lined up against the Redwings (again).

For now the schedule looks like this:

2007 WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS





Time (Pacific) #1 Detroit vs. #5 San Jose Network
Thursday, April 26 4:30 p.m. San Jose at Detroit VERSUS
Saturday, April 28 12:00 p.m. San Jose at Detroit NBC
Monday, April 30 7:00 p.m. Detroit at San Jose VERSUS
Wednesday, May 2 7:00 p.m. Detroit at San Jose VERSUS
* Saturday, May 5 11:00 a.m. San Jose at Detroit NBC
* Monday, May 7 TBD Detroit at San Jose VERSUS
* Wednesday, May 9 TBD San Jose at Detroit VERSUS

Detroit, finishing first in the west has home ice advantage.

Mike Mueller

Tickets go on sale for the first two home games Tuesday at 10:00 AM

Emily Mueller

It's time for Bay Area Fans to get their game face on!










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Tuesday, April 03, 2007

As Seen on Craigslist

Mike Mueller I admit it.
I scan the local Craigslist listings looking for qualified loan officers.

I'll also admit I have hired only one LO from Craigslist in over a year of doing this.

That's a pretty low ROI wouldn't you say?

We all know the business was flooded by inexperienced "pseudo professionals" in the past couple of years.

Here's an example from today that may show you why...


I changed actual names but left the juicy details as they were written.
If you would like to hire any of these people, send me an email - I'll send you a link!

This is from "Sean".
Judging by the title, he's covering his bases...

"Loan Agent/ Warehouseman/ Landscaper"
They go together right?

Sean goes on to describe his skills:
Mike Mueller

  • Fork Lift operation * Alpha / Numeric filing
  • Order picker * Duplicated documents
  • Pallet Jack * Microsoft Word 2005
  • Heavy Lifting * Loading Trucks
  • Home Delivery * Multi phone Systems

This is how the actual post lists his skills.
I require all my Loan Officer's to be Forklift Certified, don't you?
Those loan files can get pretty heavy.

Sean presently works at "ABC Finical", (actual name changed to protect the innocent)

I guess they might be saving money by not using all those extra letters.
He's also presently working as a landscape laborer. Working two jobs? Great for you Sean!
(and I mean that)

As a professional, I don't really want people like Sean out there doing loans.
In the same way I don't want my Eye Surgeon working part time at Starbucks.

But some Broker out there, eager for loan production is going to hire Sean.
Sean is going to soon have business cards that look much like mine.
Sean is going to start making phone calls and interrupting family dinner times.
Sean is going to send out junk mail by the thousands.

But how does the public know to recognize the difference between a professional and a Sean?
Good luck Sean!

And good luck to the people who decide to use Sean as their loan officer.
They are going to need it!

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Friday, March 02, 2007

Friday Fun - Ness

 Ready to lose another hour of productivity?

Last weeks was so much fun, I was actually nervous about trying to find something worthy.

Then a motorcyling buddy sent me this.

You've seen the Geico commercials. "It's so easy even a Caveman can do it!"

http://www.cavemanscrib.com

Enter the private world of the modern day caveman.

Explore his contemporary condo, open doors, play with his I-Pod, watch his Plasma, flush the toilet while he's in the shower, read his magazines and so on.

Also, here's a clue, doing things twice and three times will result in a different reaction.

Happy Friday!

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Friday, February 23, 2007

Friday Fun - Ness

A client sent this to me and I thought it was good enough to share with you all.

After all, it's Friday - loosen up!

So this is a cute little flash game called Mansion Impossible

The object of the game is to buy and sell houses, hopefully making a profit until you can 1031 Exchange them all for the Mansion on the Hill.

(OK, so I made up the 1031 Exchange part)

Get this... The house values go up AND sometimes they go down! How weird is that?

Now don't go and spend all day playing this. Or if you do, don't tell anyone!

Have a very Happy Friday!

Here's the link: http://www.flashgames247.com/play/575.html

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