This blog is approaching its five year anniversary on Feb 1st, 2010. As I think about the coming milestone I wanted to share with you some changes that have been occurring on the back end recently.

At one point I used to update this blog on a daily basis.  There was a time when I used to be on the cutting edge of breaking news, information and home financing tips. However, I’ve slowed down a bit over the past few years. For starters I haven’t been even been in the industry since 2008, so you can understand why I haven’t been around. Aimee has been the primary blogger and for all intent and purpose was the “Arizona Mortgage Guru”.  She’s fantastic as a blogger, broker and everything else. However, things have not worked as we had hoped. In fact I’ve already made a few changes around here if you haven’t already noticed.

The first big change is this blog is no longer Aimee’s. It is now back in my (Shailesh’s) hands. So, I guess you can call me the “Arizona Mortgage Guru” again (but you don’t have to if you don’t want to). There are a number of reasons for this but I really can’t go into the details here right now. If you really want to know lets have coffee and I can tell you in person.

The other change to this blog is that I am blogging as a mortgage commentator not  a mortgage professional or broker. Since I was in the mortgage industry for a while and have intimate knowledge of the industry I can still share a lot about the industry. In fact I continue to follow the changes and events in the industry so I have expertise that I can share. Most importantly though, for better or for worse, I’m not tied to the industry. Hence am able to voice my personal opinions and thoughts freely.

There are more changes coming. I will be sure to update you as I make them. In the mean time continue to use this blog as a resource for all your home financing needs.

photo credit: Omer Wazir

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The Real Estate Blog Carnival rolled into Arizona this weekend and boy did we have a lot of fun. In fact with Valentines day coming up love is in the air.  It is no surprise that this weeks’ blog carnival is heavily influenced by cupid. With over thirty submissions this week my weekend was certainly occupied reading, evaluating and expanding my horizons. In many ways all these blog submissions reminded me of the valentine cards people send back and forth. So, who do you think is my valentine this week? With apologies to my husband Shailesh of course!

Here is how I divided them up:

“It’s Not You Its Me”- I certainly don’t want to name names here, but there were about 15 or so submissions that for one reason or another I just didn’t connect with. It didn’t have the electric vibe I would expect. Now, don’t get me wrong, they were perfectly well written and in fact some were very technical. However, for one reason or another it just didn’t give me the butterflies. So, we had to part ways and believe me when I say it’s not you it’s certainly me!

“Let’s Stay in Touch” – There were 10 or so posts which I was certainly intrigued by and that made me stop and think. In other words I gave them a second glance. However, I’m certainly not ready at this point to say I would like to move things in any other direction other than at a professional level.  I could see us as casual acquaintances and I would love to subscribe to their blog just to learn from them. So, let’s stay in touch.

“How Does Italian on Friday Sound?” – There were three posts in particular which caught my eye for sure and defiantly are worthy of further conversation.  In “Buyers Psychology in Today’s Market” , Cece Blase provided a great analysis of buyer behavior. Everyone talks about a buyers market but, how many really know how to take advantage of it? Also, understanding the psychological disposition in this kind of situation is very helpful as well.

Dan Melson, in “Military Housing Allowance and Loan Qualification”, wrote a great technical guide for those receiving housing allowance. While his article was geared towards those in the military it can certainly apply to anyone who receives a housing allowance such as those in the clergy etc. Take a look at this one. You’ll learn something and be better for it.

Over analyzing the market can paralyze buyers and sellers and make fools out of both. Jonathan Dalton, our very own local real estate agent extraordinaire makes this point by using tell us that “You Can’t Outrace the Sunset”.  When you price a house with an expected “x” percentage fall in prices, guess what there is a chance the next house on the block will sell for less than yours. It’s because your “realistic” price is now a comp for the next sale and if the next guy does the same thing, then the market spirals down faster.  Just read Dalton’s take, he does a great job making this clear to readers.

“You Look Good In My Sweatshirt” - We would definitely work together in many settings and I liked the  styles of these posts.  I am a sucker for practical guides and people who get to the point right away. That is why I liked the users guide to selecting contractors and resolving any issues when dealing with contractors written by The Smarter Wallet. The posted titled “Home Improvement Contractor Problems: How To Resolve” is a great starting guide for those homeowners seeking to embark on a major home improvement project and need to seek the services of a contractor.

Loan modifications are a joke and I want to thank William Doom for emphatically say so on his post.  He provides a five step process to guide consumers seeking to do a loan modification. The best rule he gives is not to work with those loan modification companies, because as we’ve experienced here in Arizona, they’re a joke!

“Mom, Dad, This is…” – In the end it’s about honesty, authenticity and trust. What better way to reinforce this than by pointing out that those seeking to short sale their homes should be really up front about it from the very beginning. It’s pretty clear that not being up front about it only hurts the chances to quickly sell the home .  In her inaugural post at Rain City Guide Courtney Cooper makes a radical suggestion: honesty.Her post “Short Sale Listings: Leaving Out Key Details Is Like Telling A Lie.. “ is a great read and very insightful on how sellers should approach this difficult topic.  Honesty eh? Now that is something mom and dad can appreciate.

Have a great Valentines week everyone!

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Hitched to the economy
Divorce rates drop as couples realize it’s cheaper to stay together
By Marty Orgel

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The recession and economic turmoil is creating a new class of casualties: Married couples who can’t afford to get divorced. In these tough times many people are finding it’s cheaper to stay together, even when they can’t stand each other.

“The reason that the economy has such an enormous impact on divorce is that most people in the middle-income brackets are getting by on whatever income they have. They’re just getting by,” said Bonnie Booden, a family law and divorce attorney in Phoenix.

A major factor in the divorce downturn, Booden said, is divorced couples have to establish two separate households with current funds — a prohibitive factor when you’re looking at divorce in tough economic times.

Booden said one out of every two clients is seeking consultations because they can’t afford to get divorced. They want to know what other options they might have.

“I tell them about the process, about the cost, and what a reasonable outcome might be. And once they hear the cost, and especially how you have to duplicate two households on the same money that currently funds one household, they try to think about some other options,” she said.

Who knows maybe something good will come out, as couples stick “around” and weather the storm together.

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I will let you know that even when I was the main writer for this blog, Aimee was the one who provided me with many of the ideas. So, this world is not entirely new to her. Also, since she has always been on the front lines – dealing directly with borrowers and their needs, she has a great feel for the type of issues being faced in today’s mortgage market. I have a sneaky suspicion this blog will be more than a hundred times better than its ever been! Which is to be expected from such a high caliber professional like Aimee.

Since the changes at CTX, Aimee has moved on to PrimeLending in Mesa, AZ. You can learn more about her at the “Meet Aimee” page on her website.

Please join me in welcoming Aimee to the blogosphere (or blogiverse, which ever you prefer to call it). I’ve told her many times that she’s going to meet some amazing folks by blogging and I hope you’ll show her that I wasn’t exaggerating.

So, take it away Aimee. It’s all yours!

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Anyways, the purpose of this post is to hear from you. I’ve been blogging for a few years and it hit me today that I’ve never really asked my readers what they would like to see on this blog. I know I’ve posted a lot about FHA loans, Mortgage Insurance, Subprime and various other topics, but today I want to ask you. What are are some topics you’d like to learn more about?

I know may people call to ask me if the market has bottomed out. Well, I can’t really say for sure, but there can be good buys out there. In fact, there was one person who said he really didn’t think he could get a good answer from a real estate agent, since they have an interest in the answer. But, I reminded him that not all real estate agents are like that.

So, going back to the original question. Would you like to see some analysis of when and when not to do a refinance? How about an interest rate trend review? See, there I go again. I’m trying to come up with some topics.

Seriously, leave a comment below regarding a home mortgage related topic you’d like me to write about and I promise to take you up on you request.

photo credit: jamuraa

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As promised here is a link to the Powerpoint presentation from yesterday. Additionally, I have posted the video of a class I did on setting up a WordPress blog at the Arizona RE Bloggers Network meeting last month.

Arizona Real Estate Bloggers Network Meeting – May 2008 from phoenixrealestatelive on Vimeo.

I do mortgages on the side to support my blogging habit, so please feel free to refer any clients who may be in the market and need a good quality lender! If you browse through this blog you’ll realize that Aimee and I certainly know what we’re doing and we have a history of providing 100% customer satisfaction!

Just a friendly reminder

Post Updated Monday June 16th. Here is the powerpoint slide from my presentation via SlideShare:

| View | Upload your own

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The highlight of the week for me was of course Thursday. I was the substitute presenter at the Arizona RE EV Blogging Networks monthly gathering. Jay Thompson, The Phoenix Real Estate Guy, was not able to do the kick off WordPress training and so I had the honor of stepping in. It was a lot of fun actually. I want to thank everyone for showing up and for your enthusiasm. It is always a pleasure to talk about blogging.

My presentation was a very basic over view of how to set up a WordPress blog and all that good stuff. It went well for the most part, but the area where I felt I was weak was in actually getting people to start a blog. A few people did end up setting up blogs, but many seemed to just want to listen and take notes. Which is fine. As promised I have uploaded my powerpoint presentation.

A lot of folks out there are hungry to learn about blogs and how to blog. If you have questions and concerns, why don’t you leave a comment on this post and I’ll try to answer it – or someone else could and that way we build a repository of information for agents and lenders eager to learn about blogging. You can still write to me directly if you wish too.

Some of the usual suspects were there – like Christoph, Nick and Doreen. Many thanks to Candace and Shelli for all their hard work in putting this meeting together. Also the our sponsors. Thank you all. See you next month.

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Well, now it looks like she’s taken the plunge. Last week she e-mailed and and told me she’s set up a blog on professional organizing and I was elated to hear that. Her blog is called “Overcome the Overwhelm” and already has some really good nuggets on getting organized, improving productivity and living a stress-less life. I already know this is going to be an awesome blog, and that is because I know that Jen is an awesome professional organizer!

The only thing I can say at this point is “watch out”, to the other bloggers who focus on professional organizing. You guys now have some pretty tough competition coming your way. However, as a blogger I know it’s not all about competition, but also about building community and interaction and relationships. So, on that front Jennifer is going to make a great addition to the already mushrooming professional organizing blogosphere.

Head on over to Jennifer’s blog and leave a note!

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The FHA Mortgage Center is running a blog contest and I’ve entered the contest. If you believe The Arizona Mortgage Guru has consistently provided you with quality content then please consider voting for this blog. All you have to do is click on the thumbs up button in the side bar under “Vote for AMG”. —to side bar—>>

I do not run this blog to win online beauty pageants or, to be known and heard about in the blogosphere. The focus of my efforts is to provide you the ready with valuable content as you navigate the complex real estate financing market.The quality of e-mails I receive from you is a testament to that endeavor and is sufficient reward for me and my business.

But, if you should so feel inclined please vote for me.

Thanks,

Shailesh

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I apologize for the lack of pictures, but I didn’t take my camera with me and so don’t have any to share right now. But I’m sure Candace will send some over and I’ll be sure to put it up once I have a few. In fact the whole program was taped – so hopefully we’ll be able to have that available soon.

Just to recap, all the speakers shared some great information – from tips and tricks to how much increase they have seen in their business since they started blogging. I learned a lot – so thank you for sharing. For me it was a pleasure to finally meet the Lady in Red, Teri Ellis, Paul Slaybaugh and Mike Jones from Tucson. Jay Thompson (our local celebrity) was the keynote speaker and he spilled the beans on the key to his blogging success! It’s always a pleasure to hear him speak – so thank you!

As promised I have uploaded and made available my PowerPoint presentation for those interested. It is from my blogging 101 seminar from last year and is a bit outdated (that is how fast the blogging world is evolving). Click below to download:

The organizers and sponsors are discussing the possibility of holding these kind of get together events on a monthly basis and in a more central location. Please contact them directly if you are interested in attending the next event.

Thank you to Shelli Bates of Land America Title and Ron Kohatsu of Win Gateway (Home Inspection) for sponsoring this event.

4.29 pm update: Teri has posted pictures on her blog.

Friday AM update – some pictures courtesy of Teri:

The captive audience (there were a lot more people than what can be seen here)

Friday (4/25) PM update: Paul Slaybaugh has a complete re-cap with a whole new set of pictures!

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