Steve M's Blog

Fannie Mae's Refi-Plus and the more limited Relief Refinance from Freddie Mac debuted nearly a year ago.  These programs were designed to allow responsible homeowners, who had first mortgages owned by these agencies, to refinance into today's low rates even though they had lost value (equity) in ...

According to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in testifying before the House Financial Services Committee this week: "There is no happy ending for the government's bailout of the mortgage giants. The transition from public to private support of the markets isn't anywhere close to reality. Wors...

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reafirms the rates will stay low for "an extended period of time".  He is apparently referring to rates that the Fed has direct control of and not necessarily mortgage interest rates.    

Traditional thinking to stimulate an economic recovery is to keep interest rates low.  The Federal Reserve of course takes the charge on this as they set some very key benchmark rates namely the Discount Rate and the Fed Funds Rate.  Despite what many may think, the Fed has no direct control over...

We've all been to the workshops and seminars, usually put on by a RE or Mortgage "Guru" who promises to change you business, give you the strategies of the top producers, motivate you to new heights and so on and so on, ad nauseam.  Of course it is usually the case that these gurus have not sold ...

Last Saturday was a big day for me.  After months and months of preparation, I competed in the Grand Masters (age 50+) division of the NPC sanctioned San Diego Bodybuilding, Figure and Bikini Championships.  It was my first competition at the ripe young age of 54. I trained very hard, hired a gre...

Last night we witnessed a historic passage of the Heathcare Reform Bill in the House of Representatives by a vote of 219-212.  We have all heard opinions ad nauseam from the politicians, talk show hosts and pundits on what this means for our country but as Real Estate and Mortgage professionals w...