Russ Msrtin's (edumakated) Blog

Those of us who live and die mortgages on a daily basis often times have to go get a strong drink and just laugh.  One of the favorite topics among loan originators at the water cooler is dumb ass underwriting conditions.  Basically, conditions that need to be satisfied on a loan approval that ar...

Here is an interesting video floating around the net.  While I don't want this to turn into a Democrat vs Republican love fest, I think this video does point out some of the major issues that got us into this mess - unchecked lobbying and bad social policy.  The video would have been more credibl...

I am not too pleased about the yet to be defined $700 billion dollar bail out that Henry Paulson is proposing.  First, I believe the banks made their bed so they need to lay in it.  Second, I am not sure this is going to do anything to actually stabilize the housing market.  I believe we need to...

Seriously, you have to work with Realtors.  But I figured the title would be catchy.  Over the years, I have received numerous questions from other mortgage brokers as to how to become a top producing mortgage originator.   My spam folder is filled with "proven systems" to becoming a mortgage bro...

I was going to write something on how to read Good Faith Estimates (GFEs), but an article on CNNMoney.com caught my eye.  As you know, I have been pretty critical of the mainstream media in their reporting of mortgage issues.  Mainly because they don't have a freaking clue.  This article is yet a...

Yesterday the Federal Reserve released guidance to banks on subprime mortgage lending.   Like most government initiatives, this guidance is a day late and a dollar short.  In efforts to slam the lenders, the main stream media also forgot to ask one very important point about the guidance.   Who e...

The other day, I showed you how the gas stations and mortgage brokerages have a lot in common.  You can read it here.  As promised, there is more to the story between Big Moe's and BP.  Recall that Big Moe's is just across the street from BP.  Since Big Moe's doesn't have much overhead, he is buy...

There is often a lot of confusion as to how the mortgage brokerage industry works.  Mortgages are not something people deal with frequently and because it is financial product, I can understand the confusion.  Sometimes it is best to use other industries as an example.   The mortgage industry has...

It is no secret that anyone getting a mortgage above the conforming limit of $417,000 is in for some sticker shock as the rates on non-conforming mortgage loans have gone through the roof.  For instance, a typical 30 year fixed rate mortgage is about 6.375% (no points) right now versus about 7.5%...

I have never aligned myself with Democrats or Republicans.  In fact, I am a proud independent and have always given my votes to the candidates that I feel best represent my personal interests politically regardless of their party affiliation.  I voted for Clinton.   I voted for Bush.  There are m...