Harford and Cecil County Homes

Regrettably, many people have come to identify Matthew Cox as the face of greed in the industry.  I'm pretty sure that everyone reading this post has heard of him.  While it's true Cox is an infamous and notorious criminal, his profile more closely resembles that of a street thug than it does the...

I can  relate very well to the nervousness felt by new bloggers on Active Rain.  I didn't think to read the posts of others before writing my first post last December. I just drafted something and sort of threw it "out there" to see what would happen.  It was featured.  At the time, I had no clue...

The historical correlation between the economy and foreclosure rates is amazingly weak. I've spent several days compiling and studying foreclosure statistics from the 1950's through the present. You would think unemployment numbers would have a direct effect on foreclosure trends nationally. They...

I received an email recently from a woman who had read my Active Rain posts.  From her message, I gleaned that a lender had taken advantage of her during a refinance transaction.  I receive similar emails fairly often, but somehow this one was different.   The lady's name is Paula and she wasn't ...

The CEO and managing partner of Real Living, quoted from George Orwell's novel 1984 during his keynote speech at the 2007 National Settlement Services Summit.  Rouda was, of course, speaking to our ability, and duty, to make our industry better than it is. Rouda espoused the immediate need for ch...

A research phase would be the best way to describe the state of affairs in my office these days.  Mortgage fraud statistics are dynamic, moving targets.  Many of you want to know the truth about mortgage fraud, but find it difficult to stay informed. The data is available, but is distributed in f...

Does anyone recall the movie "The Replacements" and the infamous phrase uttered by quarterback  Shane Falco  played by Keanu Reeves?  The movie's plot develops around an NFL strike and the call to action of a cast of football "has beens" seeking redemption, at least temporarily.  In a moment of d...

Earlier today, I asked for your collective opinion regarding a builders' rebate.  The willingness of the Active Rain community to contribute will never cease to amaze me.  I've spent the day preparing for two upcoming presentations in Florida and now have better and more relevant information than...

Scenario:  A builder actively solicits buyers by agreeing to make their first 12 house payments. The buyers are given a lump sum at closing to use when making the payments.  Like most builders, this one has assembled a team of trusted professionals comprised of a title company, loan officer, and ...

Business Blogwire, a blog written by Easton Ellsworth, had an interesting post titled When is Blogging a Waste of Time?  10 Nasty examples.  Proof in point: Sometimes it's easier to define something by saying what it shouldn't be rather than what it should be.  Blogging remains at best an ambiguo...