MIddleton, Wisconsin is #1 - Bill and Cathy Helped!

17 July 2007 - Middleton, Wisconsin

It's people like Bill and Cathy that make Middleton, Wisconsin the Best Place to Live in America.

CNNMoney.com came out with their annual list of the best places this week and this modest suburb of Madison took first prize. Middleton is attracting the kind of people that want to live in a place with access. reasonable real estate prices, low crime, and a positive outlook. In the published interview, residents cited the tightknit community as to why this community rose to the top of an impressive heap.

A tightknit community? How do you get one of those? Well, let's get back to Bill and Cathy. These are the kind of people you want in your neighborhood. Bill coaches or assists in three community youth league sports. He's on committees and supports their games. He does business - their business, not his - locally with as many people as he can. He knows his neighbors, their kids, and can talk to them about jobs, family, and nothing at all very comfortably.

Bill and Cathy both volunteer at their son's school, providing support ranging from lunchroom work to field trip chaperones. Cathy is active in local committee and church groups. They vote, ride bikes, and help their neighbors shovel snow during the long Wisconsin winter. They are the good citizens of Middleton - They didn't move to the #1 community in America - they helped create it.

So why is this relevant to my blog and you? Bill is Bill Quigley, my business partner and friend. We maintain a small office in Middleton and Bill is the brains behind the problem-solving we do for our Robbins & Lloyd Mortgage clients. He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet and is the neighbor you've always wanted. And behind every great man...well that means Cathy is his equal in every way.


Congratulations to Bill and Cathy Quigley for living in America's best place - and congratulations to Middleton for finding them. They are a small part of a big deal, like the tiny jewels in a Rolex watch that make it so precise - and so very precious.

Art Blanchet

Your Home-Your Money

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

Shop Your Lender BEFORE You SIgn - 12 Easy Steps to Saving Your Credit and Identity

6 June 2007 - Madison, Wisconsin

Got a mortgage loan? Not sure it's the best deal? Think there's smoke and mirrors? You are not alone. But how do you scan the mortgage landscape without having your credit dinged to oblivion - or get lenders calling you the next two years (which is NOT an exaggeration!)?

Listen here as we relate a realife adventure of a client and friend as we explain how to compare-shop lenders and keep the credit unscathed. "Peter" followed these instructions (12 Steps) exactly and only gained, gained, gained.

Reality Radio at its useful best! We help when we can.

Art Blanchet

Bill Quigley

Your Home-Your Money.com

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!

Identity Theft at the Pump - Robbed Twice

22 May 2007 - Madison, Wisconsin

It's bad enough we're paying over $3.50 per gallon for gas (and Exxon's profits are up 50%), but we're being robbed at the pump in other ways - Identity Theft! Things are getting ugly.

Our friend Scott Bilker (http://www.debtsmart.com/index.html) had this posted on his website. It's from from Sheriff Ken Jenne of the Broward Sheriff’s Office (Florida) and it's an eye-opener.

Scott is dedicated to helping people control their credit card and consumer debt and has written three books on the subject. He also posts articles and news daily and is worth a periodic visit. We've had him twice on our weekly radio show - Your Home-Your Money - and he's been all over TV and radio and in print. His is one credible son of a gun.

Check out this slick crime spree going on in Florida - and probably elsewhere. Gone in Four Seconds. Four seconds! Imagine the time it takes to regain your security and identity AFTER the crime.

Identity Theft takes many forms now - you just saw the "direct" approach. Consumers from Florida to Wisconsin, and all over the U.S., need to be diligent to avoid being a victim. Even getting gas! Four seconds of prevention is worth months of cure!

As Sergeant Phil Esterhaus on Hill Street Blues used to say, " Hey, let's be careful out there."

Art Blanchet

Bill Quigley

http://www.YourHome-YourMoney.com/archives

Mortgage Lessons Learned from Tiger Woods

4 April 2007

Reprinted form Tom Domin's Mortgage Marketing Toolkit article pages. As some of you may have figured out, I like Tom and his advice, tools, and helps. He asks what appears to be a more-than-fair price for his materials, but also gives away much for free. While his info is geared toward Mortgage Professionals, there is much in the way of truth for all pros here. I also like this article as I am a Tiger fan and enjoy the stats. (Art Blanchet)

A Valuable Mortgage Lesson Learned From Tiger Woods

Unless you've been living in a cave or under a rock the last few years, you've seen first hand how Tiger Woods has become one of the most dominate forces in men's golf.

We watched as he won the CA Championship at Doral Golf Club this past weekend by two strokes. Woods won this event for the sixth time, more than any other tournament. Tiger is believed to be the first player to win a tournament six times on six courses - in Spain, Ireland, Atlanta, San Francisco, London and Miami, the latter on a Blue Monster course where he has won the last three years.

There is no doubt we are witnessing the performance of a truly great athlete. His dedication and preparation is truly amazing. He finished at 10 under par at 278 and earned $1.35 million for his second victory of the year, and 56th of his career.

You're probably asking...Where's that mortgage lesson you talked about? OK...Here we go!

On every hole that Tiger plays (whether it is practice or sanctioned play) a gentleman follows Tiger closely...charting each stroke and documenting the results. He maintains a low profile and you would find it difficult to pick him out from the gallery that follows Tiger on every hole. He documents each hole, of each round, at each location that Tiger plays.

Just so you know, the gentleman's name is Hank Haney and he is the "Swing Coach" of Tiger Woods. Tiger pays Hank one million dollars a year plus expenses to perform this function. Hank Haney charts each stroke from tee to green, analyzes each stroke, and then recommends the appropriate practice to correct the problems that he may have noted.

Hank Haney doesn't organize Tiger's travel plans or make hotel reservations, and he doesn't chart the golf course (that's the job of Steve Williams, Tiger's caddie of six years). As a side note, Tiger pays Steve some 10% of all purse monies. Hank Haney gets paid to do just one thing...to be Tiger's "Swing Coach."

Today, most of the top pros on the tour employ a "Coach." We picked Tiger to underscore our point here: Why would a man so naturally talented and currently so dominating in his profession, be willing to invest such a huge amount of money into his game?

The answer is simple! He's investing in his business...his livelihood...and, his future. He knows that to stay ahead of his competition he needs to invest, or better yet...re-invest in his business at every opportunity. With tour earnings of $9.9 million in 2006...Tiger spent more than 20% of that amount to improve his business

I am always amazed by the number of Loan Officers/Mortgage Brokers who don't spend more than fifty dollars a year on their own professional growth. We're in a profession that's changing daily and by leaps and bounds, and most mortgage folks refuse to invest in their business.

There's no doubt, you began a strong mortgage career, and you really got into it - but then you fell asleep at the switch and forgot to do those basic things like read industry publications or new books by sales masters. You don't go to sales seminars. You don't listen to audios or view videos on sales-related topics. You don't have any paid subscriptions to newsletters that could improve your mortgage knowledge or capability. In short, you don't constantly re-invigorate and improve your business or yourself.

If you want to survive and prosper in the Mortgage Business today...you need to be a "Tiger."

************************************************************************************************

About the Author: Tom Domin has over twenty-five years of experience in Real Estate and Mortgages. Tom is the author of "101 Ways to Originate Mortgages" available at http://www.101WaysToOriginateMortgages.com/ and publisher of "Tom's Mortgage Tips" a twice monthly Mortgage Newsletter that is geared for Mortgage Professionals. You can sign-up by visiting http://www.MortgageMarketingToolKit.com

Copyright (C) 2007 Sunset Management Solutions, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Khaddafi and SubPrime Lending (humor)

3 April 2007

Now is the Time

The (fill in title here) ruler of Libya since 1969 is a man known as Moammar Khaddafy...or maybe Muammar Qaddafi...perhaps Mommar Gaddafi...or... ?? The truth is no one really knew because his name didn't transliterate very well into English. An article in the London Evening Standard reported 37 different spellings in 2004, which is odd because everyone had forgotten who he was a decade earlier, much less cared about how to spell his name.

Sure, we all could have referred to the Libyan leader by his honorific "Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" or even "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution" or my personal favorite - "Mo G" - but we couldn't reach a concensus as a public. So the chaos ran rampant.

The point is, this inability to communicate even the simplest of messages - a man's name - threw the nation's communication system into turmoil and wreaked havoc on every kid trying to write a term paper on North African Geo-Political Systems and Its Effect on Old World Economics (when spelling counted) throughout the 80's and early 90's. We are approaching such a crisis again.

We as Americans need to decide - once and for all - the spelling of the dreaded word being slaughtered by the media (forgive my presumption here), "SubPrime." Every headline, every article, every blog, every AdWord, every television network, and every legal writ or class-action lawsuit utilizes a different spelling of the word that has become a political hotcake (or hot potato(e), or hot-something). As Real Estate Professionals, it is not only our job to set the public straight, but our sworn duty as almost semi-public servants.

There is no need for protracted discussion on the matter (hold the applause). As we are Children of the Great Democracy, we will embrace our constitutionally guaranteed privilege of freedom - and VOTE!

By the power vested in this blog, I have pared the choices down to the following, most probable choices:

· Subprime

· Sub-prime

· SubPrime

· Sub-Prime

· Not Ready For Prime Time Mortgage

· Non-Prime

· Loans That Are Past Their Prime

· Sub-prime, as in not quite Choice or Select

· Sublime

· Substandard

· Subway (I was hungry when I wrote this)

· UnPrime

· Pseudo-Prime

· Quasi-Prime

· Semi-Prime

· Sorta Prime (a scam-artist special)

· Serta-Prime (this blog is making both you and me sleepy)

· Neo-Prime

· Nouveau-Prime

· Optimus Prime (did I mention the Transformers movie is coming out in July?)

· ShouldaPaidYourBillsOnTime-Prime

· Almost Prime

· I-Can-t-Believe-Its-Not Prime

· Psycho-Prime (insert own pun here_____________)

· Sign-Here Prime (another good scammer, the longer name follows)

· Sign-Here-Without-Reading-Prime

· Still SubPrime (After All These Years)

· SeemsLike Prime

· Silly-Prime

· Prime-Lite

· Biggie-Prime

The choice with the most votes - write-ins accepted - will be the OFFICIAL designation of the loans-that-people-with-good-credit-and-regular-employment-don't-get. If you cannot vote here (it's best if you don't), there are blogs across this Land of the Free that will need correcting comments.

Do your duty! Vote with your hearts, your minds, and your keypads. We will be a great people once again and make the world a more homogeneous place.

Thank you.

FSBO vs Realtor - The Truth Will Set You Free

31 March 2007

FSBOs are your friend. When you consider (depending upon the source) that about 70% of FSBOs are eventually sold by Realtors, there is a massive market out there. Can they be YOUR market?

One simple tool - one idea: You can help a FSBO with a CMA to help them price their home (per local real estate laws and guidelines) and in turn possibly become their Buyer's agent - they're moving somewhere.

We took this concept a little further.

We recently did an eight-show radio (WTDY) series of FSBO episodes that incorporated other industry pros (realtor, mortgage, attorney, HOW, title, whatever) instructing FSBO owners on how to sell their homes. We were sincere and focused and offered all the advice and marketing techniques at the disposal of our impromptu "team." Did we hurt ourselves in this market?

We doubt it. Ignorance can indeed be bliss - we painted a very real picture of pitfalls, responsibilities, costs, and obligations, yet we still encouraged. But people are people and each will respond differently to the info. Some might do it, some might be overwhelmed and call right for help away, and some might ignore us - but no one made any enemies by offering the help and opening a dialogue.

Consider yourself - how many self-help books do you read and how many do you REALLY follow?! Information itself use useless without implementation. FSBO sellers are no different.

We can embrace the FSBO and build relationships or we can consider them lost forever. Since 70% sell through somebody, that somebody could be you. Even if all the free info changes that to 60% or 50%, that's still a big fat opportunity.

If you send an email I'll point you to the audio archives (podcasts). Or catch a link on our home page. Or go to the player in the right-hand margin.

Art Blanchet

Bill Quigley

Home Ownership - Is It Really Only About Money?

30 March 2007

Monday, March 12th, the Wall Street Journal carried an article entitled "Why Your Home Isn't the Investment You Think It Is." In this article WSJ reporter David Crook focuses only on the financial aspects of owning a home, and not very positively at that. He quotes a large investment firm - competitors with the real estate market - touting investments over home ownership. Here are our comments:

Skewed for a purpose. The article was skewed for a purpose. Someone should tell Mr. Crook about a certain family we're currently working with that made their decision to buy because of their landlord's insensitivity. As is always the case, people vote with their feet - and these folks have voted to leave.

"Randy and Cathy N". were debating all the "tangibles" of home ownership - they'd owned before - with an emphasis on finances just like Mr. Crook. Though they had sufficient income, they had pretty much decided to put up with inconveniences of renting for an additional year in order to address some debt that were trying to eliminate. Cathy wanted a home for her family, but wanted a solid marriage more, so she backed off her efforts to force the issue, even when she knew they had to re-sign their lease for an additional year and would be stuck in their energy-eating duplex apartment once again.

The first to crack was Randy, a computer programmer who works out of his home for his second job - programming contract work. The family had often walked around in heavy coats this past winter - their first in the place - to save money on heating costs wasted through insufficiently insulated walls and attic. The fact that wind would drive snow drifts around the cracks of the front door - far from having been "plumb" in a couple decades - a foot or more into the living room could be ignored as it occurred infrequently. But when it became too cold to type, Randy jumped on the home ownership bandwagon. Can't type, then no money from the second job. No money, then what are they doing there?!?.

It was then that Cathy began to waiver. She had previously agreed with her husband, and so now was looking for reasons to stay put. So she called her landlady and tried to voice her concerns about the ludicrous heating bills, the front door, and certain exterior maintenance issues. She was actually laughed at when she told the landlady how cold they were - laughed at. Ignoring that - but keeping score - Cathy decided to pursue the maintenance question, and was brusquely met with am emphatic "no" there as well - too much money had been spent on that place already. "If you want cheaper utilities, you'd have to buy a new place," was the taunt, as if the N's would never be able to do THAT! So much for detente.

Then Cathy volunteered they were looking at a possible move; one which might not be accomplished by the time the lease was due for renewal. The landlady consented, in a demeaning way, that they could have one extra month to vacate because she thought she might be able to trust them. Just as the whole conversation, this statement was meant to diminish the lives of the Renters as insignificant and to establish all power over quality of life with the Landlady.

Within 15 minutes the N's were back on the phone with me, asking if the mortgage numbers we'd discussed would really work (they would). Within two hours their Realtor® (a Keller-Williams Agent, no less) was there writing an offer on a home the N's had visited earlier, a place where the power bills were a third of theirs now (great agent service got those numbers) - and the home wasn't much newer- it was just not a rental, either.

What Mr. Crook doesn't address - and the narrative above does - is that people buy homes to acquire level of life-control, to get a sense of autonomy, and for increased self-esteem. too. Even if his horribly skewed investment numbers and homeownership cost calculations were correct, people will not live like Third World citizens to achieve an obscure future. The Here and Now has significance as well.

Home ownership never used to be about investments, profit, and appreciation - these are recent perspectives. How many GIs returning from World War II, progenitors of the Baby Boomers, actually calculated how much home equity they'd have in 30 years? Was a home about money, or was it about things more important; like life and love and family?

All the tired old cliches about home ownership and dreams are real. Investment firms might be all about creating wealth, that is true. But Realtors® (and mortgage lenders, of course) are about creating lives.

And, as it almost always happens, the lives of most homeowners are filled with wealth of all kinds.

Art Blanchet

Bill Quigley (Reprinted from our ActiveRain blog: http://activerain.com/blogs/ranchexit)