Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine Interviews Bill Quigley and Art Blanchet of YHYM

20 June 2007 - Madison, Wisconsin

Well, they like us in Canada anyway - but we weren't their first choice. We forgive them.

A few weeks back Bill Quigley and I were interviewed by Vanessa Chris from Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine about YHYM for an article they were writing on the use of technology in the mortgage industry. As Vanessa researched the Canadian cyber waves for her article, she soon realized there weren't any Canadian Podcasters up there, so reluctantly searched neighboring states and found us - and Your Home-Your Money - in Wisconsin. Close enough. (Good thing she chose us over anyone else - I was ready to trump the competition by playing the "race" card - my MOM was born in Canada!)

The print article, entitled, "Digital marketing: The wave of the future," came out in May. The online version is available here at http://tinyurl.com/37t8k7 as of this week.

Our section of the article deals with the use of podcasting, blogging, and broadcast radio as marketing tools. Podcasts can be listened to as live streaming audio via computer or telephone. Radio can be streamed, heard via airwaves, or now as podcasts via the host station. Both forms of podcasts are downloadable to computers and to cell-phones (we don't push this) and MP3 players for portable listening.

Blogs, websites, and eZines can promote all media. Video is emerging for us soon - you've seen some of our sorry-looking experiments. Here is how we promote and utilize our digital media locally:

• We gain credibility by providing information to the public/marketplace via sound and digital media.
  
• We market to that public via commercials, targeted surface mail, and email.
  
• We invite Guests who make contributions of information to the public via sound and digital media
  
• We invite Guest database and cross-promote to build credibility for both parties.
  
• We market to mutual databases and offer special services or discounts to both databases. Expenses can be shared or kept separate - with an eye on RESPA guidelines.


• We invite mutual databases and broadcast listeners to hear archivedpodcasts. These are marketed via digital means via blogs, websites, and email.


• We continue with a Second Guest and can then share three databases - directly or indirectly.
  
• And so on.

The article puts this together better in a nice interview format. We recorded the interview - with permission - which is like an uncut version of the final story - we'll share that, too. As a point of interest, CMP has shared the article with an affiliated partner in Australia (Mortgage Professional Australia) where it will get that "Down Under" twist. Add this to a couple of quotes in Blogger and Podcaster Magazine (thanks to TalkShoe) - plus a few Podcast Industry audio interviews - and we are having a wee bit of fun and getting a touch of fame. Now if there were only money...

If you follow our blogs at all, you'll see we are fans of Scott Bilker and Tom Domin. Why? We like what they do as professionals and consumer-advocates (Scott advises about consumer credit and Tom provides low-cost marketing materials to mortgage pros) and want to be associated with them. Having something to offer in the way of support and promotion allows us to control our relationships as professionals - we ARE judged by the company we keep.

Well, that's the skinny on our moment in the spotlight (or maybe just a flash-light in our case). Just thought we'd share - and possibly inspire. We will help those willing to learn what little we know - perhaps another GROUP (oh no!?!) is in order...

Thanks for reading and listening. With a little effort on our part, you'll soon be watching, too.

Thanks to Vanessa Chris and Canadian Mortgage Professional for a sweet article!

Art Blanchet

Bill Quigley

Your Home-Your Money

Hey, how 'bout them Mets!!

OK, so nobody liked my last blog (not a comment) - well I wasn't too fond of it either. But I had to use my right as an American and brag a little - with a wise lesson included - in case my Mom ever buys a computer.

Who am I kidding - she only learned the popcorn button on the microwave last week! I did it for me. I confess. And it felt GOOD!

Now, there are many blogs floating around (mental image registered) that are screaming about NEGATIVES. So, I decided to change the subject. I love the New York Mets (but not as much as the Yankees, mostly due to cool Joe Torre). Well, I don't really love the Mets - it's more a geography-based "like" of the Mets, but I love the line, Hey, how 'bout them Mets!! that has appeared in TV and movies whenever someone was in an awkward situation and wanted a distraction or subject change.

Now don't get me wrong - the Mets (Metropolitan Baseball Club) are a team I've been following for over 40 (did I say that?) years. In my adolescence I would listen from my bedroom in Upstate New York to the Mets' night games as I drifted off to a restless sleep on a very, warm muggy, still August night (couldn't use HOT August night - I'd be in the clutches of Neal Diamond's attorneys). OK (again). It was HOT! There was no "drift." I laid there in my sweat, flipping my pillow to the "cool" side about every ten minutes listening to a rookie named Nolan Ryan walk batter after batter in the ninth inning to swipe defeat from the jaws of victory.

I remember feeling so sorry for the hapless speedballer that one night a single tear slipped down my cheek to further moisten my already sloshy feather pillow. Now, in retrospect, I might concede it was probably another drop of sweat. Man it was HOT!

Well, I'm through here. Just a respite from the negatives of the world. I use Hey, how 'bout them Mets!! to distract me - you can use it or get your own. Works for me.

Art Blanchet

YHYM

DeForest Family Home - Life in the Slow Lane!

13 June 2007 - Madison, Wisconsin

Terrific home in DeForest, Wisconsin is ready for you. Solid 2X6 construction, split plan upstairs and a fourth bedroom and third full bath below. Wide open sloping backyard can be accessed from finished walk-out basement or from a raised deck. Front yard and drive are flat for the NBA aspirants - Neighborhood Basketball Association.

Super DeFo schools are close by as and nice part-time jobs for your teens are a short walk away. Need to travel? A two-minute drive to the interstate will get you to Wisconsin Dells in 40 minutes or to Madison's Capitol dome and colorful State Street in 25. Flying? Take the "back way" to Madison's newly-remodeled airport and be parked and running through the concourse in a quarter-hour. A boater or fisherman? Lake Wisconsin is a 20 minute scenic drive. Need more water and a romantic getaway? Niagara Falls is a short twelve hour drive to the east.
The home has a nice big living room, a generous kitchen, and beaucoup cabinets. Double sinks in the master bath allow one person to get ready as another showers behind a closed door adjacent. Ahhhh...privacy.

Back deck allows you to look down on your fellow man and faces south - plenty of sunshine streaming in from that spacious area. Appliances and fridge included, plus water softener and the Peace of Mind-generating one year Home Owner's Warranty. Window coverings stay (who wants to start from scratch?). Pull down attic storage give storage above and there's plenty below in the utility room and two totally-oversized closets. Nice, big downstairs family room and that mysterios bonus room - use it for exercise, a music room, or den.

Any interest? - call Linda Laitinen from Keller-Williams Premiere Realty Team. She'll hook you up the right way. Tell her you got the word on Blogger.

Thanks.

Art Blanchet

Your Home-Your Money

Jenni the Bill Collector - by Scott Bilker

2 June 2007

Debt Collectors - ya gotta love 'em. Some people pay their bills for no other reason than to avoid dealing with these misanthrops, the Ambassadors of Animosity. Scott Bilker from DebtSmart shares this story about Jenni the Bill Collector from his website - we'll share with you and then the follow-up, too Comments from Scott are in italics.

We don't know if "Jenni" is representative of Bill Collectors in general, but read the article - she sure represented herself as a human quite poorly.

Thanks Scott!

Bii Quigley and Art Blanchet

Your Home-Your Money

__________________________________________________________________
Jenni the Bill Collector

by Scott Bilker

I received a letter from Jenni about Chris Peruzzi's article, Bad Customer Service. Turns out that Jenni is a bill collector. I found her comments to be quite interesting in that you can get an insight into the thinking of the typical bill/debt collector. I included my remarks for added entertainment.

Jenni: "I am a bill collector. What a lot of people forget is that what we do is our job."
I don't think anyone forgets that it's her 'job.' Jenni's collection victims also have jobs.

Jenni: "We do not come to your office and cuss you out because you wanted an 8:00 meeting. Under the FDCPA (fair debt collection practices act) we are legally allowed to call from 8:00 am until 9:00 pm your local time."
Of course Jenni didn't come to our office and cuss. It sounds like she would, if she could, which is why the law limits their contact.

Jenni: "But where I work, we start calling at 7:00 am our time. Do you think that I really want to be pleasant at that time?"
Does Jenni think the people she's calling are going to be pleasant at that time?

Jenni: "One of my biggest problems is that we are constantly mistaken for telemarketers/customer service. We are far from that. Our job is not to make you happy, but to make our client happy."
Well Jenni, obviously you're not making us happy, so don't be so surprised when people hang up on you!

Jenni: "We don't always know what is going on though. That is why we call. We were hired to find out why there is a past due bill with you and our client. Give us a break. You do your job, and we will do ours."
I don't think Jenni knows why she's hired. Her job is to collect, not to 'find out why.' That's why the job title is Debt Collector not Debt Investigator.

Jenni: "Also, remember this; we want to get it cleared up just as badly as you do. So allow us to help you dispute things properly if you feel that there is something wrong with the bill. Hanging up and cussing us out does not make us want to help you."
Jenni assumes that people want her 'help' to clear things up. She doesn't want to help, she wants to collect.

Jenni: "Do you really want something on your credit that could have been avoided?"
More than likely, something is already on the person's credit report because the account is in collection. It cannot be avoided at this point.

Jenni: "You are an adult. So act like one. If you don't want us to call at 8:00 am, politely tell us to call you after noon. We will be more than happy to. And don't insult our intellegence."
If Jenni could spell 'intelligence' it would make it more difficult for people to insult her. The best advice to get Jenni to stop calling is to politely ask for her address and then send a letter demanding that her company cease calling.

Jenni: "I am a 20 year old college student working my way thru just like anyone else. At least I have the manners and maturity to handle things like an adult. Think about that one."
I thought about it, and I think Jenni doesn't understand the situations that real adults, not adults by age, have on their plate. Situations like multiple jobs, children, mortgage payments...life!

RADON, ASBESTOS and LEAD - OH MY!

4 May 2007 - Madison, Wisconsin

The Mortgage Guys rip one from the podcasting archives in this favorite about Home Inspections.

#22 - RADON, ASBESTOS and LEAD, OH MY!

Nope. We're not in Kansas any more Toto - we're in Real Estate! Now it's time to find out what's more dangerous - the Wicked Witch of the West or Your House. To do that, you need a home inspection...

"I'm ALREADY paying for an appraisal - now you say I should pay for a Home Inspection?!?!" Welllll...after you listen to this this recorded interview with Kimberly St. Louis, a Certified Home Inspector with A-Pro Home Inspections (a-pro.net/madison), you may want to spring for it! Kimberly talks to The Mortgage Guys about just what an inspection is, who benefits from it, and discusses the powerful information contained in the report.

Whether you are buying a brand new yellow brick home or live in a century-old castle (flying monkeys and all), Kimberly says a home inspection might save you thousands of dollars and even uncover health and safety hazards (a little fire, Scarecrow?).

Don't worry, Bill Quigley and Art Blanchet will get you all the info you need, and it won't cost you a tin', man.

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/audioPop.jsp?episodeId=1071

(FREE "Podcasting & Real Estate" webinar coming your way - email us at info@yourhome-yourmoney.com (Subject: Podcasting) to queue up. Details will be forthcoming.)

Ben Benanke's Rival Makes His Bid - or Why I'll Never Look at the Federal Reserve the Same Way Again

A little treat for those who keep track of the Federal Reserve. Remember Sting, The Police, and"Every Breath You Take" - you will, very soon...

Personally, I think Ben Bernanke is doing well, but it's difficult to measure a man's performance as Fed Chief after only a year. Give Mr. Bernanke a presidential administration of two to show his stuff, then evaluate.

The singer in this video is Glenn Hubbard, Dean of the Columbia School of Business - and you thought these guys were GEEKS! Ha!! You can't judge all college deans by National Lampoon's Animal House standards.

In the mean time, enjoy this little ditty courtesy of YouTube, with a special thanks to Shailesh Ghimire of Arizona for pointing this at me.

MORTGAGE GOLIATH STONED - We Interview Davey

26 April 2007 - Madison, Wisconsin

There is no shortage of press about the subprime market and the less savory products known as "option" ARMS and pick-a-payment loans. Many people felt they were duped or misled. Frankly, I had a hard time believing some of these people were victims - did they really believe that while the rest of America was paying 6 and 7 percent for their mortgages that they'd get a long term rate at 1.95%?!? It was tough for me to swallow and I even said so over the air on our weekly show more than once.

Then Bill and I came across this article in the online version of the Washington Post. As the couple was from Wisconsin, we wanted to interview them. They agreed. Here's a summary we later attached to the show/podcast:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/05/AR2007020501415_pf.html

This mortgage-gone-bad story is getting attention across the US as it applies to borrowers everywhere. According to an article in the Washington Post, Susan and Kevin Andrews of Cedarburg, Wisconsin refinanced their home in 2004 into what was explained - and reportedly documented - to be a 1.95% interest rate that was to be fixed for five years. It was not. The Andrews family decided to fight and eventually took the lender - Chevy Chase Bank - to court and WON, setting the table for a class action lawsuit by thousands of borrowers in the same boat. This is their story - and their caution - to the listeners of Your Home-Your Money as related in this intriguing live interview.

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/audioPop.jsp?episodeId=14889

Will "Older Adults" Benefit from Florida's No Property Tax Proposal?

19 April 2007

I'm not trying to whip a dead horse.

Life can throw a few curve-balls at you - some of which open eyes to a different viewpoint, a different paradigm. I think my mind's been in Florida a bit lately, especially with reports coming in about my wife's uncle who is in the hospital down there. I guess you mix that with David Podgursky's blog and an event that happened a few minutes ago, and for me, an idea akin to an epiphany moved to the surface of my mind.

The catalyst to the new viewpoint came from a very simple comment from Michael Fooladi, who comments in my Would You Trade SALES TAX for PROPERTY TAX? blog. Michael simply wrote, "Absolutely. Raise the sales tax and do away with property taxes." I then thought of the "old timers."

Wouldn't it be something if our Older Adults (the PC form of Senior Citizens) - which are our current Moms and Dads, Grandmas and Grandpas right now (and will be us some day) could actually LIVE on their social security, savings, and retirement funds!? With NO Property Tax they could even truly OWN their homes. Completely! Currently, if they don't pay property tax, they could lose them. But imagine a situation with 100% ownership, no property tax, and maybe even no insurance! Full ownership. What a novel idea!

If the burden were switched to Sales Tax, the older adults - who are in their low consumption years - would really get a break. Would this turn Florida into a gigantic retirement home (insert pun here) filled with semi-destitute retirees? I doubt it - real estate prices a too high for that to happen. There would be changes, but I don't think insurmountable ones.

The more well-heeled retirees could throw more money (and sales taxes) into the economy as they'd have more to spend. And the wealth from inheritances - which could be greater - could churn the economy, too. It'd mean less financial burden on the middle-aged children who sometimes supplement their parents living, so again more money for other things.

Of course I'm thinking ideally here for one segment of society. But our aging citizenry - many of whom have given to society for decades and decades - could really benefit from my simplistic observation. After paying for school and government for 50 to 70 years, might someone say, "Stop. Thanks - you've done your part." at some point?

It is quickly becoming nothing short of a crime to grow old in America. Does Florida have a solution, even if only as a side effect?

Art Blanchet

Bill Quigley

Your Home-Your Money.com Mortgage Talk Radio

Don Imus Has Distracted Me Today

A little departure from mortgages might be necessary here. I cannot let the Don Media Circus pass without making some sort of footnote entry. It happened, so I'll mention it here ONCE.

I am flustered - I find this Imus thing to be so morally ambiguous that I'm not sure what to think. There is no doubt his flippant remark was stupid and insulting - and I DO think the racial underpinnings were something we really didn't need to hear over the airwaves - certainly not 100 times in three days, either. It was a stupid remark - and he deserved censure.

He also personally insulted young women athletes he knew nothing about. As a father of three young women, I was angry at his abject ignorance and thoughtlessness. It was MEAN to say those things.

Perhaps even more deplorable than what Imus himself said is that it launched the programs of the reactionaries and opportunists. A raging tirade was unleashed with many self-aggrandizing semi-political celebrities vying for the spotlight and trying to expand a stupid, callous remark by one has-been into a national agenda. The spotlight grabbing and self-serving spillover has been sickening.

Who are the victims here? Who was injured? We can certainly broaden the scale to include an entire race, or even an entire gender - isn't that what's already going on?. However, it appears to me that while we can go that route, the true victims were the Rutgers players and their families. And how did they react? They met with the offender - discussed the matter - and forgave him. The victims forgave the offender. Who has greater demands on justice than the victim?! Certainly the politicians do not.

A year ago the Amish community was shattered when a man - known to them - kidnapped, bound, and slew their precious daughters. What was their reaction? They forgave the offender, forgave his family, attended his funeral, and reached out in healing to the family of the very man who had harmed them so deeply - a man who had taken innocent lives. The Amish leaders did not launch a a diatribe against those they perceive to be different or even oppressive. They did not blame society. They didn't say it was television, or music or media either. They simply, quietly offered forgiveness and closed the books on the painful matter. They will heal and grow. They are now also admired and respected as a result of adhering to the ideals to which most of us can only wish to aspire.

Imus made a stupid remark, but it was his stupid remark. It did not represent any other individual on the planet. The Rutgers team behaved well. Everyone else in media did not.

"He who takes offense when none is intended is a fool. He who takes offense when it is intended is usually also a fool." - Brigham Young. The court of public opinion seems to be presided over by very, very foolish judges.

FREE SWEEPSTAKES at Your Home-Your Money - $1000 Monthly Prize

11 April 2007

Our website is provided by ALAMODE.com. We pay for the hosting service and template. We can modify it within certain limits, so it is unique. ALAMODE really strives to support us and help us provide tools, value, and information (much of which we customize) to our visitors and clients alike. It's a good relationship.

ALAMODE now sponsors a monthly Sweepstakes with a nice prize. It is absolutely FREE for visitors to enter - their goal is to increase traffic on the websites and give us - THEIR customers - something to give back to our visitors. It's a nice perk that doesn't hurt anyone or cost money. We are accountable to RESPA, so the contest is open to everyone (of age).

If interested, take a minute or two to enter. Rules are posted on a link provided on the entry form. It's not very invasive and as a result of your entry you get put in our (Bill and Art's) database, where you occasionally can get special emailed reports, ideas, and info. You can opt out (and get eliminated from our personal list) any time.

You don't need to be a client or customer to enter - just a visitor. We appreciate you reading this blog, so we decided to share to chance to win through Blogger, too.

Here's the blurb:

We wanted to make certain you got this, so we posted it on our blog page. Thanks for visiting and looking around. To enter go to www.yourhome-yourmoney.com/sweepstakes or click HERE. Good luck, too!

Visit our website and get registered (click on the word "SWEEPSTAKES" in the right-hand column.) for our monthly sweepstakes drawing and you could win $1,000! That will go a long way to a down payment on your dream home, some new landscaping, or your next home loan payment. Either way, it’s cold hard cash – so register now!

While you’re there, check out all the ways we can help you with any of your real estate needs!

• Thinking of looking at some homes? It pays to pre-qualify and we can help you in just minutes. Give us a call at 608-831-HOME (4663) to get started right away.


• Need to refinance? Rates are great right now and we can help you with refinancing. Get out of that nasty ARM and take advantage of excellent FHA products only one-quarter of brokers can offer.


• Want a hassle-free loan? Then you’ve definitely come to the right place. Our loan process is super easy for you and we don’t drown people in excess paperwork.


• FREE Reports, loan calculators, and borrower's tools. All here for your use.


• Listen to our podcasts, Ten-Minute Lessons, and radio archives. Here you'll find a great discussion about some of real estate's most pressing issues - and simple solutions - as they pertain to your home and your money.

You don't need to be our client to enter the sweepstakes - just fill out the entry form and you're in! Don't forget to come back every month - or more often if you want!

Good luck with your entry! We hope you’re the next lucky winner!

Bill Quigley
Art Blanchet

608-831-HOME (4663)

Microsoft Small Business Summit - Rieva Lesonsky

6 April 2007

(Reprinted from ActiveRain blog dated 22 March 2007)

The good people at Microsoft held their annual Small Business Summit this past week (it ends Friday March 23rd) - unfortunately I only had the time to catch 3 or 4 sessions online at my home in Madison, Wisconsin during the entire five days. I try to get more time in, especially when some of the sessions offered have nothing to do with Microsoft and plenty to do with business.

One of the speakers who gave a very animated and interesting presentation was Rieva Lesonsky - senior vice president and editorial director of Entrepreneur Media Inc. (Entrepeneur Magazine et al). Her topic was entitled Coping With Risk and she really delivered her message with energy, humor, and enthusiasm. She pointed out that the entrepeneur is by nature a risk-taker, and as such is going to make mistakes as he grows. And mistakes when you are small are not as brutal to your business, because you can always start over if close to the beginning. For emphasis, she cited this memorable quote from George Bernard Shaw, "A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but one more useful than a life spent doing nothing." I gobbled that up and will definitely use it next time I fail to ask for directions when traveling with my wife. (Wish me luck.)

Rieva also spoke about making your risks small ones. When using technology such as word searches to penetrate a market, don't go up directly against the Big Dogs as their pockets are way to deep and they have name recognition. She said it is better to work the fringe markets, the areas where there is less competition so you can establish yourself, your reputation, and your client base more easily. Then let that success carry you into your bigger market. In her words, in the beginning, take the road less traveled (which is the excuse I can give my wife when lost).

In the Q&A session, Rieva recommended that the small business entrepeneur get a niche. She said to make your business personal - to do the little things the heavy hitters cannot or will not do. She also said to incorporate your business, and to work it full time. Participants were instructed to continue moving forward with their plans. As she put it, "Even if your on the right track, you're gonna get run over if you're standing still." I liked that one - so true.

My next blog (I hope) to report on Jennifer Laycock, editor of Search Engine Guide. She tells us How to Get a Higher Profile on the Web.

The Microsoft Small Business Summit will have all videos and audio archived for 12 months, but not until the summit has concluded for three days (rescission?). After that time, you can catch them all at www.sbsummit.com.

Art Blanchet

Bill Quigley

You and Your Debit/Credit Card - link here

Ocean View Follies: You and your debit/credit card

Came across this blog - not really a real estate blog - when googling credit info. The author takes a few minutes to cite some of the dangers and results of loss of credit cards or credit card into. Consumer rights and procedures were discussed in this brief, concise article.

If you like it, be sure to leave them a positive comment.

Thanks.