Why do I write this blog?

Just like any profession, you are always looking for ways to improve communication with those you work with.  Ever since I started this blog, I have been thinking of ways to do just that and the idea of looking at other mortgage related blogs seemed like good, practical self advice.  So I set about doing research and I was surprised to find what was out there.  Most of the blogs I encountered ( I am sure I didn't scratch the surface of what is out there but I think I got a good sampling) that were considered highly rated blogs, were very nicely constructed, many of them having pictures and advertisements and the like.  But after looking at blog after blog, I noticed a consistent pattern and 2 simple questions kept running through my head:

  1.  Who is the target audience for this blog?
  2.  What useful information are they getting that will help them?

Let's be clear about my main goal-  Educate and inform borrowers, attorneys and realtors about the mortgage process in the tri state area. 

What does a reader get out of the following types of articles I have seen:

   1.  Mortgage applications down 3.5% for the 4th quarter of 2010.
   2.  The median price of a home in the US was down 2.6% last fall.
   3.  How wonderful the service is at XYZ Mortgage Company.
   4.  Lovely charts and graphs showing trends in condo sales.

A realtor in NYC relayed a story to me many years ago and it has stuck with me ever since.  He mentioned  there was a mortgage broker that had a systematic campaign of sending out his monthly newsletter to as many realtors he could find and many of them were not people he had done business with.  Upon receiving this newsletter, the realtor said "if I wanted another article about mortgage rates being up for the week or co op sales being down for the quarter, I would just look at the junk my company spits out on a daily basis".

In keeping with my goal, here is my tip for the week: 

           Gift money from family for down payments MUST be sourced.  That means proof of where the money came from and proof of the deposit into a legitimate account.  Gift money cannot come "from under the mattress" and must come from a spouse, fiance or close family relative.