America's #1 Mortgage Broker

Yesterday, Localism expert and recognized Queen of Long Beach , Laurie Manny, was quoted in an Inman news article along with Teresa Boardman of St Paul Real Estate Blog.

The full content of the article can be found on Inman News but was republished here for those without a subscription. 

Real estate blogging expert, Mary McKnight, lauded Active Rain for it's meteoric rise to the forefront of social networking in the RE.net.

Laurie Manny's SEO accomplishments are astounding :

1- 8th in organic results for "Long beach, CA real estate" 

2- 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th in "Downtown Long Beach Real Estate" 

3- 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th for "Belmont Heights real estate"

These results have materialized in a short 4-6 months since Laurie started writing her rich content about Long Beach.

Teresa Boardman's SEO accomplishments are equally as impressive:

Enter "St. Paul real estate" into Google and see Mrs. Boardman's place as 2nd and third in the organic searc,

Congratulations to Laurie, Teresa, and Mary McKnight for a fine representation of Active Rain in the industry news. 

http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.com/

http://www.stpaulrealestateblog.com/ 

http://www.rsspieces.com/ 

http://www.transparentre.com 

America's Most Opinionated Mortgage Broker  

PS:  I inadvertently omitted Pat Kitano in the article.  Pat has been on Active Rain for a long time.  I think of Pat Kitano's Transparent Real Estate Blog as a network itself because it is well written and attracts so many members of RE.net. Pat is a contributor on the Active Rain Real Estate Network.

I wrote a post about the loss of jobs due to the subprime collapse and was pleased to see it featured.  I had written about this problem a few weeks before the mainstream press picked up on it because I have contacts at both securities firms (from a former life) and sub-prime lenders (from my existing life).

Some good comments followed along with a request from my buddy Carole Cohen about WHO was really going to LOSE from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.  Laurie Manny and I discussed this tonight and she convinced me to go public with my theory.

Let me tell you a story about how the subprime mortgage market collapsed and millions of baby boomers had to accept less money in retirement.  If you liked the Da Vinci Code, you’re gonna love this one.  It’s not wrapped up in sex, or murder, or corruption,  just good-old fashioned “pass the buck” and “what the little guy doesn’t know won’t hurt him” attitudes.

WARNING:  If you are prone to believe conspiracy theories, you are going to curse, kick the cat, and be extremely pissed off after you finish reading this.

Here is the dirty little secret of the mortgage securitization boom of the last 5-10 years:

CLICK HERE FOR THE SECRET (opens in a new window) 

You'll get a good history lesson and hopefully a little laugh. 

Orange County, CA may be in trouble. The OC is home to the subprime lenders of America. The subprime mortgage market is collapsing like a bluff on a beach in a tsunami. Bubble bloggers dance on the graves of the fallen.  What I find amusing is that nobody feels bad for a collapsed lender.  I mean, come on, everyone knows that it's just a bunch of rich people playing with the Wall Street's money, right?

Now Main Street's whitewashed windows and vacant stores
Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more
They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back to your
hometown
Your hometown
Your hometown
Your hometown

Lyrics from My Hometown by Bruce Springsteen 

Well, let me tell you a story of the real estate industrial complex of Orange County.  It may not have a happy ending.  Most lending employees are not highly-paid.  Sure, I've mentioned that the subprime wholesale account executives were paid like starting pitchers for the Angels but the bulk of the folks who crank out the loans are the rank and file, clock-punching, lunch-box carrying, worker bees. These are folks who were tossed into an industry some five years ago, learned their jobs by their wits and excelled during booms.  They stayed late, worked on weekends, and sacrificed vacations, to get the job done.

Now they won't have jobs.  "The Boss" opined in the mid '80s about industries leaving small towns and the effect on the local economy.  You have to wonder about the effect on the subprime mortgage capital of the country, Irvine in tony Orange County.  Most of the employees came from the Southern California counties of San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles.  The subprime mortgages were not only originated there, they provided affordability for the starter homes in those counties.

Let's look at the ripple effect:

(1)- lending guidelines tighten so residential mortgage capital is becoming more scarce. 

(2)- loans default in record proportions in a lighting-quick time frame

(3)- lenders announce massive layoffs or simply close the doors

(4)- home building starts drop

(5)- construction jobs become less plentiful 

I think it's quite possible that we could see an exodus of young, non-college educated people from the coastal Southern California counties to areas like San Bernandino, Riverside, And Kern counties.  The average family needs an income of close to $100,000 to afford a starter home in the coastal counties.  The inland counties provide housing options for a family with a $65,000 income.

I know most people won't shed a tear for the "worker bees" that worked for lenders.  I, however, thank you all for your hard work, dedication, and professionalism during a trying decade of lending.  I wish you the best of luck no matter what you pursue.

I haven't been hiding my out and out admiration for my co-contributor on Bloodhound Blog, and new Active Rainer, Michael Cook.  He writes amazing things about investing and draws from his studies as a graduate business student at Cornell and his practical experience as an investor.

He's young and polite.  He knows more than you but never flaunts it.  Here's a kid who wears his education like his watch; for use and not for show.  Jeff Brown complimented him by saying he was a "rare breed- a highly intelligent young man who doesn't know it all".

Today, Michael slid a great article in about real estate investment theories that can actually make you money. Wholly impressive considering he's trying to keep the professors at Cornell happy during mid-term exam week.

Here's the coolest part about Mike; he's walked the walk.  He is an active investor.  He's a great writer, too.  He has the ability to translate complex theories into tips for those of us that may not understand what "delta' means or how interest rates affect cap rates.

I mentioned he's an active investor.  Don't read him because you think he could be a client one day. Read Mike because you'll probably be retired in 15-20 years and living off your investment properties.  Get to know how he thinks today.

He may be the Fed Chairman tomorrow.

Lenn on her "new" business strategy:

So, it worked?

Brian, I just “love it when a plan comes together”

Were there fears or trepidations or were you confident in your strategy?

There was never any doubt.  I never had any fear or trepidations because I was NOT “trying” anything.

Lenn on business through social networking websites: 

No.  I would not refer a home buyer to any lender simply because of a friendship or relationship developed on a blog.

...I just settled on Wednesday with a buyer who had been pre-qualified with an Internet lender.  He had been taking advice from an online mortgage transparency “guru“.  It was a disaster.

Lenn on whether or not she is a "go it alone kind of gal" :

Goodness !  Where did you get the idea that I am going it alone?  No such thing!

CHECK OUT THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE  

This one was so much fun!  My Broker Bryant interview and X Broker Interview were somewhat easy.  I met Jeff Corbett before and spoke to Bryant on the phone a lot before the interview .  This was a challenge.  The first time I spoke to Lenn was after we finished the hard work of Q & A. 

Lenn is sweet, professional, smart, and best of all...

SHE'S OPINIONATED !  Just like America's Most Opinionated Mortgage Broker likes 'em!

* Picture used with permission of Lenn Harley and Homefinders.com  

Thank you to everyone who submitted an entry to the Carnival of The Economics of Real Estate.  We had over fifteen entries:

All of the entries have a star next to then and can be read here.

Notable entries from newcomers to the group include: 

Greg Swann with The Math of Real Estate Sales... 

Michael Cook with How to Value Options in Real Estate 

Karen George with Know Your Home Loan Basics Zero Down  Loans and Who Can Afford My Home?

Irene Potter with 1st True Encounter With a Redfin Buyer 

Keith Gill posted MMA Type mortgage Accelerator programs and Negative Amort Option arms

Old Econ Group Salts Posted: 

Renee Burrows outlines her journey to wealth and analyzes the subprime fallout.

David Podgursky  took solace in poor economic news and reviewed the theory of constraint.

Janeanne Narrin analyzed new construction problems and pricing solutions to them

Tim Maitski cautioned about the bubble bursting more.

Robert Ashby teaches investors how to "beat the system" by avoiding taxes (legally).

Sharon Simms discusses a new twist on agent compensation.

Allison Stewart ponders whether it s abuyers' market or sellers' market .

The judges of the carnival were a real estate broker, a loan originator, and a Realtor.  I did not judge the carnival.  The winner of the subscription to Forbes and Inaugural Carnival of the Economics of Real Estate is..

CLICK HERE FOR THE WINNER       

Michael Cook is a multi-family investor and graduate student at the Johnson School of Business at Cornell University.

He is a co-author at Bloodhound Blog and a serial winner of the Carnival of Real Estate Investing.  Greg Swann found him writing his stuff on myspace and quickly recruited him to write at Bloodhound.

Michael read my post about the "Carnival of the Economics of Real Estate" and joined Active Rain.  While I wouldn't expect him to post for points, he is a knowledgeable man with the gifted ability to communicate economic theories into everyday practice.  His entries are short enough to digest and long enough to keep you interested.  Michael's first post was called:

How To Value Options in Real Estate
 

Please join me in welcoming Michael to Active Rain!  Add this guy's blog to your list!  Those of you who host investor groups might want to extend a welcome to Michael and invite him to your group.