Just an answer to a few questions I get daily.

I have decided to start my own blog about the mortgage industry. It will cover several aspects and be updated semi-weekly to weekly. There is so much I want to write about that there might even be ten posts this weekend. A good friend has been asking me to write alongside his. I pondered this for several days and decided, hey why not. He already made some wonderful blogs and has asked me to run his into mine as well. I will happily do so, because they are very educational and well written.

I love the industry and get several questions about it weekly. Probably not as many questions as people should be asking though. Let’s face it. It’s an intimidating subject to everyone, and very foreign. Many people in my industry know less than many of you.

So I guess the first questions I will address are the ones I get SEVERAL times a week.

"Why are you still in the mortgage business?"

Well, I love it. I decided how hard I work, and what I make corresponds to that effort. I am able to determine my own destiny here. I get to use my personality to meet people and hopefully help them.

"Isn’t it a horrible time in the business?"

Yes. It’s a whole different world compared to a year ago. Thing is, a year ago the money was so easy that it was not at all realistic. I don’t know the exact statistics, but I can get it close. October of every year you have to renew your Florida Mortgage Brokers License. Well in 2006 there were roughly 90k licensed brokers in Florida. In October of 2007 about 47k’ish actually renewed them. For some reason I think it may have been less. You can count on those rough statistics being true across the country. That speaks for itself!

Lots of people came into the industry over the last five years or so, made lots of money with very little effort, and ran for the hills when they had to begin working more than four hours a day. Let me rephrase that, when they had to actually work. Yes, I am as a matter of fact telling you that people were making $150,000 a year the last 4 years in my position and spending as little as 20 hours a week in the office. I sat next to them, I think I out performed them all when the times started getting tough. Maybe ONE of them produced at my level. Now what I did last year was by no means astounding. It was enough, and I know the people I worked with are either jobless or in some other business now, with jobs I am quite sure they hate. I on the other hand am gaining peace of mind sitting here educating you and working on my business.

The thing is this business isn’t bad now if you want to work. Your house isn’t going anywhere. Trust me; your home has gained a TON of value over the last few years. It’s not going to lose all of that unless you pour gasoline on your carpet and light a match. I know you won’t do that. As a matter of fact, don’t be greedy about it possibly losing value now. Most wont, the values are just dormant. If it is, look at what you’ve gained and be joyful about that.

And here’s a statistic that will blow your mind. This is a fact. Ill will touch more on it later in another facet but for now I will get it out there. The average America mortgage lasts three years. Yup, I said three. Can’t be true right? Bet that blows your mind. It blew mine when I first heard it. That’s a stat, not a made up number. It comes from the US Census. You have 30 year fixed rate loan imprinted in your head because you’re a US Citizen and you conform to the norm. You call a broker or bank and you say "hey, what do I qualify on a 30 year fixed rate loan?" You find the lowest rate and you and the Mr. or Mrs. make your way out to dinner, happy that refinancing is over. BUT, the 7 year fixed rate loan was at 5.125% and the 30 year fixed rate was at 6.25%. You know you won’t be in that house in 7 years. You just wasted a ton of money.

I am by no means saying that 30 year fixed rate loans are bad. I think they are great. But there are 1000’s of loan programs out there. It’s all a matter of finding someone you trust to do your mortgage for you and then making sure they actually are looking out for your best interests. My goal in this blog is to educate people who are willing to read about their homes, the market, and one of the biggest decisions they make in their lifetime (and according to the US Census Bureau, they make it a handful of times in their life.)

Jason