In today's society, trust is something that has to be earned and not just given over. In our industry, that is a little different as it is trust that our clients put into us that we will treat them fair and look out for the ultimate interest. With that being said, I have known way to many Realtors, Loan Officers, Appraisers, Inspectors, and others from our industry that have betrayed the very trust that we work so hard to maintain. The issue with trust is there are only 2 outcomes. The first... Read Full Story

Every since I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, I have been dealing with the issues of squirrels. I have never seen so many of them in one place. The come after the bird feeders, after the humming bird feeds, after my vegetables in the garden, and worst of all, they are eating the sun flowers. So, after I had enough, I want to know how to get rid of them. Now, for those that know me, I love animals. With that said, I could never do anything to harm an animal unless it was going to harm me or a... Read Full Story

I was contacted a week ago by Sarah Scrafford concerning her writing an article for me to place on ActiveRain. When I first started corresponding with her, I was a little reluctant to place another article on my website. After reading her article, I am glad that I was open to posting her article. As you can see below she has put a lot of time in this article and did a fantastic job on it. Her information is below if you would like to email her or read her regular post. Thanks for taking the... Read Full Story

It is amazing the products that you can buy on line these days. It spans from homes to cars to boats to food to wine to liquor to furniture to books and beyond. With that said, I know a lot of companies that also buy all of their things on line as well. Attorney's office, Stagers, Builders, Realtors offices, and Mortgage companies are just a few to name in our industry that also purchase on line products. For most of them the reason is accessibility and the need to save time. Armed with that... Read Full Story

Rich Dansereau wrote a post on Tuesday detailing the opening college games. I thought that it was a great post on the NCAA Division one conferences. Tonight will be a big night in a lot of cities, so I hope that you are prepared to catch your team. With that said, tomorrow is National Color Day. This is the one day that all are suppose to come together in represtation of the schools colors. So, when you are getting ready for work tomorrow, just remember that you need to wear your college's... Read Full Story

For years the American way has been to live off of credit cards and charge till you can't charge any more. Then when the bills start to pile in, it becomes time to figure out how to budget them. This theory or philosophy if you will is wrong in every sense. If Americans want out of debt then the sensible thing is to manage to the debt that you can afford to pay each and every month. now, for some, that is going to be hard to adjust too. For others, it is no more than changing the way that you... Read Full Story

Tolerance is one of the traits that I put right up there with patience and it also requires that you have knowledge and the ability to be helpful. So many people that I have met in the past lack these 4 traits and that keeps them from achieving success. Franklin D Roosevlet said it best in the very first quote here about how were are to survive. It does not just pertain to our civilazition, it applies to our work like. You do not have to like your clients, you have to be able to tolerate them... Read Full Story

As some of you are well aware, I have been working on a preview of all 32 teams in the NFL. Well, yesterday I finished that preview and decided to put together a post with all 32 teams on there. I hope that you enjoy reading about them. *Disclainer* Remember that this is my opinion based on what I saw at the time of writing these post. Since the original write, some things have changed that will effect the outcome.   New coach, Same team (Baltimore Ravens) Will the Cardinals Soar? Buffalo... Read Full Story

I would like to take a moment to introduce everyone in ActiveRain to Anthony Latham of National Title Solutions, Inc. out of Odessa, Florida. For you that do not know where Odessa is, it is out of the Tampa bay area. Anthony and myself go way back to my days as an operations manager of Countrywide's Full Spectrum Lending. Anthony was the office manager for another title company that we will allow to remain nameless. Anthony and his staff have always provided the utmost in customer service and... Read Full Story

When it comes to teamwork, it is a concept that I know and understand very well. From my many years of playing team sports to my many years of managing, I have known all along that there is no "I" in team. I am against people wearing the number 1 for this very reason. The team is number 1, not an individual player. In our daily lives it takes teamwork to make it happen. Think about it like this. Without the appraiser, the Realtor, the loan officer, the processor, the title company, the... Read Full Story